Charges that carcinogens are present proven false

FICTION:
“The existence of an environmental damage and the presence of toxic elements such as chromium, benzene, benzopyrene, and innumerous health threatening elements have been systematically proven.” – Pablo Fajardo, Radio Tropicana: 1/31/08

FACT:
While plaintiffs’ attorneys continually claim that carcinogens are present, the facts are very different.  Mr. Cabrera didn’t analyze a single soil sample for benzene and he did not analyze any soil sample for any potentially carcinogenic heavy metals, including hexavalent chromium.  He did analyze 178 soil samples for polyaromatic hydrocarbons including benzo[a]pyrene.  No benzo[a]pyrene was detected in 171 of those samples (96%), and the 7 samples where it was found were from Petroecuador sites, not pits remediated by Texaco Petroleum. Mr. Cabrera collected a total of nine water samples either directly from water in open pits or from boreholes within pits and no benzo[a]pyrene was detected in any of these samples.

The actions of the plaintiffs speak louder than words. While continuing to lie about finding benzene in media statements, the reality is that the plaintiffs stopped testing for this compound in 2005 after test results continually returned zero traces of benzene.