Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro sued by Brazilian group over alleged pollution
OSLO – Some 40 000 Brazilians are bringing a group-action lawsuit against Norwegian aluminium producer Norsk Hydro for what they say is toxic waste pollution the company is causing in northern Brazil.
The lawsuit is brought by a group of communities who live in the lower Amazon region in the Brazilian state of Para, mainly members of Cainquiama – the Amazon Association of Mixed Race, Indigenous and Quilombolas – representing some 11 000 families.
They are seeking compensation for what they say is "the incorrect disposal of toxic waste in the Murucupi river, as well as other effects from the presence of Norsk Hydro installations in the region", their law firm PGMBM, said in a statement.
Hydro has three installations in Para: Paragominas, a bauxite mine; Alunorte, a refinery where the bauxite is transformed into alumina; and Albras, where smelters turn alumina into aluminium.
"Victims have been exposed to toxic residues from the processing of aluminium, which can cause health problems such as increased incidences of cancer, Alzheimer's, skin diseases, stomach problems and diarrhea," PGMBM said.
The lawsuit, which is being filed in the Netherlands, also refers to a 2018 spill that occurred at Alunorte.
In early 2018, Hydro apologised for what it said was a "completely unacceptable" spill of untreated water during severe rains at Alunorte but denied that this had resulted in a contamination of the local environment.
The unlicensed release of water led authorities and courts to demand that Hydro curtail its alumina output from Alunorte, triggering in turn the partial shutdown of Albras, resulting in outages that lasted more than 15 months.
PGMBM said the claimants were not filing the lawsuit in Brazil because they were "frustrated at a lack of progress in the Brazilian legal system".
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
As a reticulator, Egoli Gas provides natural gas to homes and businesses via underground pipes.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Complete range of security sealing solutions including security seals bags and labels.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
