Firestone company on the hook for polluting water

(GIN)—A Liberian government investigation has concluded that the American-owned Firestone Rubber Plantation Company has polluted local water sources.

Water samples were taken in September and air lifted for international testing. The three-month investigation found that high levels of orthophosphate had accumulated in creeks, which are a water source for thousands of villagers.

At very high levels, orthophosphate can cause bone decalcification and increased parathyroid gland activity, according to a fact sheet of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In low doses, it is used as a corrosion inhibitor in drinking water pipes.

Firestone said it believed it fully complied with environmental law and its waste water was not harmful to health.

This is part of the November 11, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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