Around 2.8 millions of Panamanians live practically in a ‘’Russian roulette’’ as their channel is usually used to transport radioactive materials, mainly uranium and plutonium, by companies from the United States, England, Japan and France, denounced environmentalists from Panama during the event of the Latin American Water Tribunal in the Mexican capital.

Susana Sarracín y Raúl Escoffery, activists representing the Initiative of Civil Society for the environment, ISCA, explained the dangers that people is exposed to every time a company signs a contract to transport radioactive materials.

Both assured that this is an old problem since the first complain made in an international level to the United Nations is dated in 1984, however was until year 2000 when some civilians intensified and took legal actions against it through official complaints and lawsuits which haven’t had any response at all at the present moment.

Sarracin and Escoffery agreed in saying that obscurantism and secrecy in Panama government regarding this issue is very suspicious, because each time a complaint is made the Panamanian officials offer the same answer that they are applying all the safety measures recommended for these cases.

Through an extensive demonstration by dozens of letters including complains sent to more than 30 non-governmental organizations around the world in addition to many documents as proof that Panamanian authorities have been warned about the risks of transporting radioactive materials, both environmentalist said that they feel strongly worried.

Sarracín sustained that actually the Panamanian government doesn’t show any political will to stop the transportation businesses that sign those contracts all of which are perfectly identified by them.

Escoffery said that until year 2000 there were an average of 12 shipments of radioactive materials through the Panama channel, but now that number reaches three every year that is still a big risk.

Both participants uncovered that is not an economic problem anymore because the toll charged to an average ship is 50,000 dollars and the Panamanian government gets half of that payment.

‘’Usually ships are charged by the weight they are carrying but in the case of the radioactive materials the ships where are being transported are smaller, the national economy doesn’t suffer much if they cancel their crossing for the channel or they deny permits to pass’’, detailed Escoffery.

Sarracin, a lawyer for the ISCA, said that ships with radioactive cargo may use the Suez Channel to reach their destination or to travel by Cape Hornos, but they don’t choose those routes because in the first one they must show proof of an insurance of unlimited warranties that is very expensive because it would cover any damages caused by an accident and the second one because Argentina banned several years ago the crossing of any shipment with radioactive materials through their territory.

Members of the jury questioned both environmentalists about the different actions made to sort out the problem and the times that they presented it before the Panamanian government.

In this third case revised by the International Water Tribunal was notorious the absence of the accused side, because the Panamanian government didn’t sent any response even though it got a letter from one of the transportation companies named J. Clarke, whose message assures that it would send documents guaranteeing the safety of its ships.

06/GT/LG