FICTION:
“The evidence clearly documents how Chevron created a cancer pit in the Amazon to save money in its production costs.” – Pablo Fajardo, Amazon Defense Front Press Release: 2/28/08
FACT:
In 15 years of litigation the Amazon Defense Coalition has yet to submit a single piece of medical evidence to substantiate cancer claims.
Medical and scientific experts have reviewed the studies used by the plaintiffs to support their claims and each expert independently concluded that they are flawed, biased and inconclusive.
Arana and Arellano’s published letter in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2007 shows that there is not an increased risk of cancer in the village of San Carlos.
Kelsh, et al, concluded in their 2008 peer reviewed paper published in International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, “The national mortality data collected and summarized by INEC does not currently support a relationship of oil extraction activities and adverse health outcomes in potentially exposed communities.”
Neither the plaintiffs’ attorneys nor Mr. Cabrera have submitted any valid evidence to the court to support that there are increased health or cancer risks in the area. Mr. Cabrera submitted only a summary of an opinion survey from which he extrapolated approximately $9.2B for individual cancer deaths. Not only is his reported cancer death rate more than 250 times higher than that reported by the Ecuadorian government for this region of the Amazon, he fails to name a single beneficiary to collect the dollar damages. Instead plaintiffs have announced that all damage awards will go the Amazon Defense Front.
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