Pollution at power utility

GABON accused French environmental services group Veolia on Tuesday of widespread pollution at Seeg, the power and water utility it operates there, amid a growing dispute over the company’s concession. Veolia, which has already threatened legal action after the government seized Seeg earlier this month and said it would cancel its concession, rejected the accusations. Speaking to reporters in the capital Libreville, government spokesperson Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze said an environmental inspection of power and water pumping stations discovered “nearly all” Seeg sites were contaminated by petroleum waste. “No one knows the consequences this pollution could have had on public health,” he said. – Reuters