ARECIBO- Juan Dalmau and Denis Márquez,  candidates for positions as representatives-at-large under the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP by its Spanish initials), reaffirmed Saturday their support to the communitarian fight against the establishment of an incinerator in Arecibo’s barrio Cambalache.

“Organizations such as the Anti-Incineration Coalition, Arecibo’s Madres de Negro (Mothers in Black), the Sierra Club, and the College of Physicians-Surgeons of Puerto Rico, joined by [PIP] leaders, like Javier Biaggi –PIP mayoral candidate in Arecibo-, have raised serious doubts about the proposed incinerator and the contamination it would generate,” affirmed Dalmau, candidate for Senate.

 

 

Dalmau added that the incinerator, proposed by Energy Answer, would affect more than 100,000 people that work, study or shop near the proposed construction site. “My commitment is to continue from the Senate the support the PIP has firmly given to the community’s fight in favor of the environment and health, against this nefarious project,” he asserted.

Likewise, Márquez, a candidate for representative, manifested his worries over “burning 2,100 tons of waste daily, which would not only emit toxic substances, but would also generate over 500 daily tons of ash that would worsen the situation in communities near the country’s dumps, where said waste would be deposited,” he expressed, drawing a comparison to toxic ashes from the AES bunker deposited in Peñuelas and Humacao.

The pro-independence politician reassured that, if elected, both he and Dalmau will vouch from the House and Senate for a contamination-free environment, “stopping dangerous projects such as the incinerator, and promoting recycling and renewable energy sources as real alternatives.”

The politicians made their expressions during a regional caravan the PIP orchestrated, celebrating the party’s 70th anniversary, set to conclude in Arecibo. These caravans will continue in other regions during October, facing the Nov. 8general elections.