Climate of Our Future

Friends of The Earth

This is not Kool-Aid. It’s a river that provides drinking water to tens of thousands of people in Greece who are dying of cancer, and whose government has left them to fend for themselves. Write our ambassador to Greece urging that the US to ratchet up pressure on the Greek government to get potable water to the affected population and to crack down on industry to clean up the river.

There is a river in Greece providing toxic drinking water to tens of thousands of people, who are getting sick and dying at alarming rates.

Indeed, the Asopos River is so polluted with highly toxic hexavalent chromium, or Chromium 6 - over 400,000 times the amount that should be in groundwater - that the river is running red! This is the result of more than 85 industries operating and polluting along the river with virtually no oversight.

Astoundingly, the government now designates the Asopos not as a river, but a “sludge tube!” You can imagine how those dying from the pollution feel about drinking from a sludge tube.

It is an outrage, and yet, inaction is the kindest way to describe the Greek government’s response to this situation. People from the town of Oinofyta are still drinking water from this river despite the many months that have passed since tests revealed the Chromium 6 dangers.

In fact, over 32 percent of deaths in this village are now from cancer, where that rate used to be around six percent.

People are dying from a preventable and fixable situation in a modern nation.

Send a message to the U.S. Ambassador to Greece demanding pressure be applied to the Greek government to provide a new water source for those living off the Asopos and to enforce laws on the books meant to regulate the over 85 industries operating on the river.

Friends of the Earth will copy the Greek government so that it knows that Americans are paying attention. Friends of the Earth is also going to carry out similar actions in nations around Europe, so Americans won’t be alone in applying this international pressure.

Please take a stand against Chromium 6 in Greece. The least we can do is contact the ambassador right now and ratchet up the pressure on Greek government.

Take action here: http://www.FOE.org/Asopos