Tens of thousands of Ecuadoreans living in the Amazon rainforest are suing Chevron, the US oil company, for poisoning their waterways in what is billed as one of the biggest environmental lawsuits in history.
The claimants say the company illegally dumped toxic waste from its oil production which filtered into the waterways and lakes used by thousands of people for washing, drinking and cooking.
The result, they say, was an environmental disaster worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, which in turn has provoked a public health crisis, with soaring levels of cancer, birth defects and miscarriages.
Some 30,000 Amazonians are behind a lawsuit to be heard by an Ecuadorian judge. Experts say the company might have to pay up to $27bn (£16bn) in damages.
The claimants say the company illegally dumped toxic waste from its oil production which filtered into the waterways and lakes used by thousands of people for washing, drinking and cooking.
The result, they say, was an environmental disaster worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, which in turn has provoked a public health crisis, with soaring levels of cancer, birth defects and miscarriages.
Some 30,000 Amazonians are behind a lawsuit to be heard by an Ecuadorian judge. Experts say the company might have to pay up to $27bn (£16bn) in damages.
