Toxic

Our guide showing us how much oil is still left in these open pits that have caused the rivers to become contaminated in the surrounding areas.

I just returned to Quito from the Amazon rainforest. There I witnessed firsthand the long-term damage that Chevron has afflicted on the health of local people and the environment. Substandard oil operations by Texaco (now owned by Chevron) from the 60s until the early 90s has wreaked havoc on the health of the forest and that of the affected population now known as the "afectados". During this time, extremely toxic waste from oil production was dumped into open pits in the surrounding forest, which found its way to the river streams that were the major source of drinking and bath water for local residents. Since then, generations of families have witnessed elevated rates of cancer (leukemia in children, in particular), birth defects, miscarriages and other minor illnesses from exposure to contaminated water like skin rashes and diarrhea.

In short, these brave souls have been fighting a long and arduous battle in court (since '93) prosecuting Chevron for years of contamination that has affected over 30,000 people and hundreds of hectares of Amazonian rainforest. Earlier this year, the Ecuadorian plaintiffs won a landmark judgement: Chevron is to pay $8.6 billion towards remediation and provision of potable water to those affected areas. But of course, Chevron has appealed, so the fight continues.This case is unprecedented. It is the first time indigenous people have won a judgement against a US company in a foreign court for environmental crimes.

What I saw in the rainforest will forever haunt me. The stories of the families affected need to be heard, and the contamination itself, so visible and so undeniably present, must be seen. For more information on this please visit or click on www.chevrontoxico.com