Chatham School Children show their "Alcoa Alphabet" of Pollution

No person shall release or cause to be released any water pollutant into the environment which is in violation of any applicable standards, conditions or permit requirements under this Act. Trinidad & Tobago Environmental Management Act of 2000 "In point of fact, fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical." Dean Burk, Chief Chemist Emeritus, US National Cancer Institute

Fluoride in our Water. Guess what? It's not really good for your teeth!

The planned Alcoa smelter site at Cap-de-Ville/Chatham is on a major aquifer. Chatham/Granville area houses water wells and filtration.  Plants which supply water to all the villages in the Peninsula. Leaching from land  pollution will contaminate our water supply. Think of the implications! "Alcoa is  committed to a target of zero process water discharge worldwide by the year 2015, and this  smelter will be included in that goal. It is sometimes difficult to prevent excessive  run-off water leaving a smelter site during periods of exceptionally heavy rain".  Alcoa. We are in 2006, isn't 10 years of unhealthy water and therefore food too long?  Anyone living in the area knows for half the year we have periods of exceptionally heavy  rain, so for 50% of the year Alcoa will not be able to control its water discharge. Is that acceptable? 

One of the most dangerous emissions is Fluoride:

A short history of Fluoride.

It all started in Nazi Germany with a company called I.G. Farben...

At the end of World War II, the US Government sent Charles Eliot Perkins, a research worker in chemistry, biochemistry, physiology and pathology, to take charge of the Farben chemical plants in Germany.

 "While there he was told by the German chemists of a scheme worked out by them during the war and adopted by the German General Staff.

 "To control the population in any given area through mass medication of drinking water."

 "Repeated doses of infinitesimal amounts of fluoride will in time reduce an individual's power to resist domination by slowly poisoning and narcotising a certain area of the brain and will thus make him submissive to the will of those who wish to govern him.

 "Both the Germans and the Russians added sodium fluoride to the drinking water of prisoners of war to make them stupid and docile."

So how does Fluoride get into your Toothpaste?

In the 40's and 50's - Alcoa had a problem - a vast overabundance of the toxic smelter waste  Sodium Fluoride and growing problem disposing of this waste. 

At the Mellon Institute, ALCOA's Pittsburgh industrial research lab biochemist Gerald J. Cox immediately fluoridated lab rats in a study and concluded that fluoride reduced cavities and that: "The case should be regarded as proved."

They SOMEHOW sold the US government on the insane idea of buying their poison at a 20,000% markup and then injecting it into the water supply as well as into the nation's toothpastes and dental rinse.

In 1947, Oscar Ewing, chief legal counsel for Aluminum Corporation of America (ALCOA), was named head of the Public Health Service). He changed the Federal Code to remove fluoride from the list of toxic materials. He then made fluoridation promotion an official policy of the PHS.

Still trust Alcoa?

Flouride is used in chemical warefare agents and the active ingredient in Sarin gas (As used by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds)

Here are Alcoa's own figures on Emission for their Trinidad Smelter project and the health impact of these emisisons:

FLUORIDES
Alcoa plans to release 262,570 pounds of Fluoride at their Chatham Smelter annually
(Source: Alcoa's CEC Application to the EMA)

Fluoride is a poison that accumulates in your body and one-third of a teaspoon of sodium fluoride is estimated to be a lethal dose?

What does Fluoride do?

Destroys bones, teeth, blood vessels, and stomach lining
 · Causes infertility
 · Causes poisoning with symptoms of headache or nausea
 · Inhibits protein & DNA synthesis
 · Impairs cortisol production and
 · Alters bone matrix constitution

Ingesting one tube of Fluoride Toothpaste will kill an infant child.
Fluoride is used in chemical warfare agents and the active ingredient in Sarin gas.
Both the Germans and the Russians added sodium fluoride to the drinking water of prisoners of war to make them stupid and docile.

Once we get fluoride in our drinking water, our soft drinks, fruit  juices, soups will be polluted by fluoride. Our babies formulas will be polluted by fluoride. Will we have to worry about our chicken sandwich in KFC, our fish from the  market and our seafood from Hi-lo? What about the water that in our Carib beer or our  Chubby soft drink. How will we know what levels of fluoride has reached our food and water supply and are they acceptable for human consumption or will we be slowly poisioned?

PERFLUOROCARBONS (PFCs)
Alcoa plans to release 137,286,600 pounds of PFCs at their Chatham Smelter annually
(Source: Alcoa's CEC Application to the EMA)

Tetrafluoromethane CF4 is an odorless gas, but it can cause difficulty breathing. The major physical hazard is that a container may rupture or explode if exposed to heat. Short term exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, symptoms of drunkenness, disorientation and suffocation.

Hexafluoroethane C2F6 is an odorless gas, but it can cause difficulty breathing. The major physical hazard is that a container may rupture or explode if exposed to heat. Short term exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, symptoms of drunkenness, disorientation, tingling sensation, suffocation, convulsions and coma.


SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO2)
Alcoa plans to release 18,905,040 pounds of Sulphur Dioxide at their Chatham Smelter annually
(Source: Alcoa's CEC Application to the EMA)

Sulphur  Dioxide (SO2) is a very pungent gaseous compound made up of sulfur and oxygen. It is a major component of acid rain.

SO2 can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation along with  burning of the skin. SO2 can cause serious respiratory illness.  It can also cause corrosion and discoloration.


POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) 
Alcoa plans to release 390 pounds of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at their Chatham Smelter annually
(Source: Alcoa's CEC Application to the EMA)

You can be exposed to  Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)s by inhalation and by coming into contact with soil containing PAHs ingestion of contaminated water or cows milk. Some PAHs may cause Lung, Bladder and Skin Cancer and may affect the eyes, kidneys and liver.

PAH's affect babies - Fetus is at greater risk and  susceptibility: Growth retardation, Low birth weight, Small head circumference,  Low IQ, Damaged DNA. Disrupt endocrine systems, such as estrogen, thyroid, and steroids. Affect in women - Early menopause related to the destruction of ovum (egg).

NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NOx)
Alcoa plans to release 79,512 pounds of NOx at their Chatham Smelter annually
(Source: Alcoa's CEC Application to the EMA)

Nitrogen dioxide reacts with sunlight, which leads to the formation of ozone and smog conditions in the air we breathe.

Even low levels of nitrogen oxides in the air can irritate your eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.

High levels of nitrogen oxides can cause rapid burning, spasms, and swelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of body tissues, a build-up of fluid in your lungs, and death.


According to the International Aluminum Institute, there are only two types of smelters, Soderberg and Pre-Bake. All new plants and most plant expansions are based on pre-bake technology.  Alcoa's claim of their modern/new/advanced technology in their planned greenfield smelter may reduce emissions, but reduction is not elimination and the quantity of emissions planned has never been tested on such a small island. The exhaust fumes from a car can kill if you are locked in the car enclosure, but these same fumes have a different effect outside of the car.  

Where are the public health studies that show the effects of this type of smelter on this size an island. Alcoa has not built a single new smelter in 20 years. Therefore, Alcoa has no proven data on the environmental impacts of this "New Technology" of their "Greenfield Smelter?

Does Trinidad want to be the guinea pig to test these new emissions levels?