Al-Masry Al-Youm’s recent tour of Alexandria’s Mariouteya canal district revealed that the salt produced therein–which accounts for 75 percent of Egypt’s total salt production–had been contaminated with industrial waste, sewage and animal carcasses, all of which are often disposed of in the canal.
The tour included a stop at the El-Wardaian sewage station, which regularly dumps untreated raw sewage in the waterway owing to the fact that its sanitation equipment is reportedly "out of order."
Meanwhile, most of the fish in the canal–which has turned black–have died as a result of the pollution.
According to a source at a local salt production firm, company management fears media coverage of the issue lest the company be shut down for violating environmental regulations.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
