WILLEMSTAD - According to the Curaçao environmental organization SMOC, measurements of the amount of sulfur dioxide in the Curaçao air show that the Isla has been a major polluter for years. SMOC states this in a press release that was emitted today.
In 2010 the Common Court of Justice ruled that Isla had to pay 75 million guilders if the SMOC could prove that Isla contributed too much to the measured amount of sulfur dioxide in the air. However, this could never be proven by measurements. Now that the Isla has been closed for some time, measurements from the website luchtmetingencuracao.org show, according to SMOC, that clearly without the refinery there is relatively little air pollution.
According to SMOC, the refinery has gotten away with this for all these years. The organization says it will ensure that a subsequent operator, possibly CORC, does comply with the rules.