Celulosa Arauco y Constitución

Infobox_Company
company_name = Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A.
company_logo =| company_type = joint stock company
company_slogan = N/A
foundation = 1979
location = Santiago, Chile
key_people = Anacleto Angelini
num_employees = 34000
products = woodpulp
engineered wood products
wood

homepage = [http://www.arauco.cl/ www.arauco.cl]

Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (also called CELCO) is a Chilean wood pulp, engineered wood and forestry company controlled by Anacleto Angelini's economic group; Empresas Copec. As of 2006, CELCO has five pulp mills in Chile and one in Argentina. Apart from pulp mills CELCO has 4 engineered wood manufacturing plants in Chile, 2 in Argentina and 2 in Brazil.

The company was founded in September 1979 as result of the fusion of Celulosa Arauco S.A. (1967) and Celulosa Constitución S.A. (1969), both companies had been privatized from CORFO in 1977 and 1979 respectively.

Pollution controversies

Valdivia

In 2004 and 2005 thousands of Black-necked Swans in the Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary in Chile died or migrated away following major contamination by a newly opened CELCO pulp mill located near the city of Mariquina and Cruces River which feeds the wetlands. By August 2005 the birds in the Sanctuary had been "wiped out"; only 4 birds could be observed from a population formerly estimated at 5,000 birds. Autopsies on dead swans attributed the deaths to high levels of iron and other metals polluting the water [ [http://www.patagoniatimes.cl/content/view/114/26/ The Patagonia Times - Patagonia News - CELCO TRASHES CHILE RIVER YET AGAIN, SHUTS DOWN PLANT ] ] . The company had been dumping dioxins and heavy metals into the river illegally from a wastetube that had not been approved by the authorities. The plant was closed in 2005 after the company lawyers reportedly produced a misleading environmental study regarding pollution on the Cruces River. The scandal prompted Celco's chief executive to resign in June 2005 and the company to pledge to adopt cleaner technologies. The plant reopened two months later at limited production capacity. [Forbes List of Billionaires 2006] Even in 2006 the Latin American water tribunal recommended to close down the mill [http://www.sociedadcivil.cl/nuevodiario/sitio/informaciones/noticia.asp?Id=7887] [http://www.elmostrador.cl/modulos/noticias/constructor/noticia_new.asp?id_noticia=183876] . In July of 2007 CELCO agreed to pay $614 millions Chilean Pesos to Valdivian tourism companies to avoid legal actions for supposed loses of the tourism sector of Valdivia due to contamination of Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary. In a document signed the tourism companies CELCO was exempted from all responsibility involving the contamination of Cruces River. CELCO also promised to pay $2 million monthly each of the coming 3 years to promote tourism. [ [http://www.economiaynegocios.cl/noticias/noticias.asp?id=28011 Economía y Negocios Online ] ]

Mataquito

In december 1999 the pulpmill Licancel (located in the coast of Curicó, Maule Region) is accused of causing the death of dozens of fishes due to the dumping of wastewater into Mataquito River. [ [http://www.olca.cl/oca/chile/region07/celutal00.htm Mortandad De Peces En El Rio Mataquito: Un Tema Pendiente ] ] In Juny 2007 Licancel once again cause the death fishes in the river. The sanitary authorities ordered a temporary closure of the plant for 30 days and CELCO fired 3 executives. Two weeks later 200,000 liters of industrial wastewater escaped from a broken pipeline, of which 50,000 reached the river. CELCO suppose it's an accidental roture a choose to paralize the plant. [ [http://www.tercera.com/medio/articulo/0,0,3255_5666_276807199,00.html La Tercera - Ejecutivos reconocen ante comisión del Senado responsabilidad de Celco en contaminación ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.arauco.cl/ Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A] Official site