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May 24, 2018

India: 12 Killed as Thousands Protest Pollution from Copper Smelter
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In India, police opened fire on thousands of environmental protesters
opposing the expansion of a copper smelter in the southern city
Thoothukudi, killing 12 people. Tuesday's deadly crackdown came as
protesters torched cars and a local administrator's office, after an
environmental regulator said the copper smelter was exceeding pollution
limits and fouling nearby air and water, sickening residents and
threatening fisheries. In 2013, a gas release from the smelter left
hundreds of nearby residents struggling to breathe, with nausea and
throat problems. The copper smelter's owner has temporarily shut the
plant for maintenance but wants to reopen the smelter at double its
capacity in June.


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