Riachuelo Basin is home to more than 5 million people. Most of them are immigrants or children of immigrants who came from the provinces in search of work. 75 percent of this population suffers from a disease related to pollution. Nitrates affect children resulting in an illness that is a deadly type of cyanosis or ‘blue baby syndrome.’ For starters, the river is oily. It reeks of the stench of feces and chemicals. It is not uncommon to find the floating carcass of a dog covered with flies, for instance. Plastic containers fill the river.

The Riachuelo is the most polluted water channel in South America, in its entire stretch of 65 miles as it winds through the most populated areas of Greater Buenos Aires. On a daily basis, the river ejects 125,000 cubic meters of water, as well as heavy metals such as lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium.

The river particularly has high concentrations of nitrates and mercury. These compounds permeate the water table from the banks. They seep into the wells from which people draw their drinking water.

There are about 400 slum colonies located on the banks of the Riachuelo. These slums are built on piles of garbage. With 375,000 cubic meters of domestic sewage that the Riachuelo absorbs each day, it is the largest open pit toilet in the world.

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