Matanza-Riachuelo basin
Benja Pettinari, Clara Fernández and Angelo Mutti Spinetta
It´s born in the south of the city of Buenos Aires and it ends in the River of La Plata
Matanza's sources of pollution
It has been heavily polluted for years by industrial waste, and every day garvage. According to a report from the enviormental manangement plan and administration from the Matanza-Riachuelo basin, an average of 82,000 cubic meters of industrial waste enters the river daily.
How the population is affected by this problem...
This problem can cause, in the worst cases, a child's brain development, decrease the bones and muscles growth, damages in the nervous system, problems in the respiratory and immune system, lung cancer, and many others.
Government solutions...
Until recently they haven't done much. In 2004 they had 500 million pesos for cleaning the riachuelo which only 1 million was used to clean it. Then in 2006 the Supreme Court gave the goverment 30 days to make a plan to improve conditions, and require 44 factories to present enviormental impact assessments of the waste being dumped into the river. Since then a lot of factories have been shut down for failling to comply with discharge standars.