Toxic Ghost Acres, o la dinámica de la eliminación de desechos de producción de petróleo en la Amazonía ecuatoriana, de los años setenta a noventa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32991/2237-2717.2020v10i1.p23-51Keywords:
Historia Ambiental, Texaco, Externalización, Gestión de Residuos, Petróleo, Ecuador, Amazonía, Justicia AmbientalAbstract
La selva amazónica en Ecuador y sus habitantes han estado expuestos a una contaminación a gran escala desde el inicio de la industria petrolera de la región en la década de 1960. Este documento investiga las prácticas de gestión de residuos de Texaco Petroleum Company que dominó la exploración y extracción de petróleo hasta la década de 1990. La extracción de recursos industriales y la contaminación crónica resultante por las prácticas de eliminación de residuos indican la creación sistemática de patrones de externalización. Este documento propone estudiar las prácticas de externalización tales como toxic ghost acres (superficies fantasmas tóxicas), examinando las piscinas de desechos como su materialización más tangible en la Amazonía. Esta contribución a las prácticas de gestión de residuos de Texaco extrapola toxic ghost acres como un mecanismo de externalización transregional de los costos económicos y socioecológicos que funcionan exponiendo un lugar a un peligro transfiriéndolo allí o evitando la gestión adecuada de los riesgos producidos in situ. Texaco se vio involucrado en el establecimiento de un sistema de gestión de residuos basado en toxic ghost acres en toda la región.
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