Alcoa worldwide pollution map

The new Yadkin Riverkeeper along with river organizations across the globe, have recently released a worldwide pollution map denoting the environmental damage that the company, Alcoa, has done in communities.

The Alcoa Worldwide Pollution Google map is an interactive tool. A click on any pin pointing out a community in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa or Australia pops up a summary on what environmental damage the company did in the community and how it responded, along with a link to a news source for more information. Alcoa, one of the world's largest aluminum smelting company, has been cited numerous times for air, soil, and water pollution violations in these areas.

The Yadkin Riverkeeper, Dean Naujoks, has been reviewing reports of existing contamination at Badin Lake, a 5,300-acre body of water that flows into the river in Stanly County via Narrows Dam. Reports of decades of pollution in the area associated with a now-defunct smelter Alcoa operated near it, including data that Alcoa discharged such contaminants as PCBs into the air, land, and waterways, prompted Naujoks to investigate other items regarding the firm's activities. The results were so widespread that he created a map as the best way to keep track of what had happened and where it was located.

From their press release, Dean Naujoks said:

"...Alcoa’s world wide environmental damage is absolutely staggering, and this map helps put it all into perspective... The company is on notice that we are holding them accountable for their actions. They need to be responsible corporate leaders and take appropriate actions...whether it is on the Yadkin River or elsewhere in the world. They will no longer be allowed to operate in relative isolation while they cause wide scale environmental damage across the globe."

For more information on the Alcoa issue in the Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed, click here.