A stalled cleanup of Shell’s massive 2008 Nigerian pipeline leak is exposing locals to “astonishingly high” levels of pollution.

Kay Holtzmann, former director of the cleanup project, raised the ongoing crisis in a letter to the Bodo Mediation Initiative, a group formed to address the effects of the spill on the Niger Delta fishing community. Holtzmann said the soil in Bodo is so riddled with hydrocarbons, whoever walks the river’s creeks can’t possibly avoid contact with toxic substances.

But rather than highlighting the public health risks, Shell is denying Holtzmann permission to publish his study’s results. Meanwhile, lawyers representing the Bodo community said they’ve been asking for health testing and water checks for years and Shell has failed to provide them. Shell can’t silence the impacts of its oil spill any longer: it’s time to demand Shell finally clean up its mess.   

Demand Shell resume the cleanup of its oil spill and provide health testing for locals exposed to toxins.

Shell admitted liability for two oil spills that dumped over 500,000 barrels of oil into Bodo. But its cleanup project has been halted for the last 17 months. In the meantime, children bathing in the river, and families drinking water from hand-dug wells, are at risk from exposure to toxins.

Holtzmann’s letter breaks Shell’s imposed moratorium on discussing the ongoing public health risks of the spill. He says Shell’s Nigeria subsidiary has “fiercely opposed” environmental testing and has refused to grant him permission to publish his findings in a scientific journal. Apparently, Shell executives consider the company’s public image more important than the well-being of the people of Bodo.

We’ve proven that together, we have the power to push oil giants like Shell towards a moral path. Like in 2015, when we surprised everyone by successfully pushing Shell shareholders to pass a SumOfUs-backed resolution committing the company to take action against climate change. Now, we need to have Bodo locals’ backs and call on Shell to stop silencing the truth and clean up its mess.