MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Gibraltar and Spain unite.
This afternoon saw a substantial protest march called by the residents closest to the CEPSA 'Gibraltar Refinery' located in Punto Mayoga, Spain.
It was supported by health and environmental groups from both Gibraltar and Spain. The Environmental Safety Group (ESG) organised the logistics and promotion of the demonstration from Gibraltar and has attended several cross border protest meetings.
A large number of people assembled on the main road and then proceeded up to the traffic lights junction, turning left into Puente Mayorga and then directly to the beachfront. More joined the march en-route.
On a small stage, representatives of the residents of the area, and the health and environment groups from both sides of the frontier addressed the crowd and were strongly applauded.
The protest ended at 2.00pm. and was followed by music provided by Bay area musicians.
In Gibraltar the ESG has been distributing leaflets and has organised a petition, and has also been participating in various Spanish TV and Radio programmes. The response from the public has been positive.
The protest followed on from the announcement by the Bay Bucket Brigade, an independent air sampling organisation, of its initial test results. These show unacceptable levels of contamination in the air sampled, including a concentration of twenty times the EU limit of the known carcinogen, Benzene.
Spanish activists distributed statistics showing an increased incidence of tumors in admissions to the Puna Europa hospital in Algeciras, as compared to the remainder of Andalucia.
Protestors reported that although on this day there was no visible smoke from the refinery, that there was an acrid taste in the air and some reported irritation of their eyes.
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