Assignment 1

This is a picture of the Matanza River in La Boca. The river has been deemed the third dirtiest river in the world and from the pictures I took and seeing in real life, I am not surprised by this statistic. It is estimated that over 15000 industries are dumping into this river, which runs through 14 different municipalities of Buenos Aires, and chemical manufacturers are responsible for over a third of the pollution in the river. A study published in the Latin American Journal of Sedimentology and Basin Analysis in 2008 revealed that the soils in the banks of the river contained levels of zinc, lead, copper, nickel, and chromium that are above recommended levels. It is actually believed that 60% of the approximately 20,000 people who reside near the river basin live in territory deemed unsuitable for human conditions. Although the area of the river we saw was awful and filled with trash, the surrounding area seemed lively and as if the people were used to it and lived as if it was their normal. The river is large but but Salud Colectiva published an article that found 80% of water samples taken from wells near the river basin were not safe for drinking. Not only is the river unsafe, but the wells that supply water water in the surrounding areas are also unsafe for drinking.