Problem 3 CONTAMINANTS OF THE CANE CULTIVATION IN PALMIRA (VALLE)

In Palmira we have one of the most important companies dedicated to the production of cane sugar and other derivatives thereof. In the production of these products are emitted various forms of pollution such as the following:

Pollution of the air by burning of cane and transportation of waste

On several occasions in the city there has been evidence of ash emissions which produces the cane burning process. This has brought with itself many people that have respiratory diseases which complicate with the passage of time coming to death. It has been heard about government campaigns in which they have banned this type of activities for what the ingenuities must pay a fine if they want to burn the cane, but this has not served to stop this practice since for these companies it is easier to pay the fine and to follow the activity without caring anything, being affected the population in urban zone and of the surrounding by the particles of ash as well as the animals that coexist with the population.

The transport of waste as the bagasse for the manufacture of paper has become in another problem and it´s that despite the fact that it is a process of recycling and improvement of the environment, they have problems with the transport of this type of waste. In the city of Palmira one of the main routes used for transporting this product was the company that were responsible using his containers, in which the vehicle passes, much of this material is filtered which has very small particle and are easy for entering the system respiratory of human and animals producing infections respiratory.

Contamination of water and air by use of fertilizers

In the process of irrigation and conditioning of soils is cane using different products that end up in the waters of the rivers. For example, in the process of sugar production there remain cachaza and honeys that are used to create alcohol fuel and in this part of the process leaves an agent called vinasse which ends up with the oxygen of the waters destroying forms of life that are in it. This agent it applied with urea and dry cachaza as fertilizer and in addition to ending little fauna that still remains in the rivers of the region produces bad odors that affect the population that limits in the city with these fields.