Chile closes state copper smelter that polluted bay for decades

By EVA VERGARA
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s state-owned copper mining giant Codelco has shut down its Ventanas copper smelter after decades of polluting Quintero Bay with toxic gases and turning it, along with 15 other companies, into an environmental “sacrifice zone.” During a formal ceremony held in Puchuncaví, images of flames from the smelter’s furnace were shown gradually diminishing until they were fully extinguished, marking the closure of the copper smelter, 59 years after its founding. A Codelco refinery will continue to operate at the site. The latest mass intoxication by pollution in the region took place only a week ago and affected nearly 100 students who suffered intoxication due to the poor air quality.