11,000 Brazilian families sue Norwegian miner for environmental disaster

In early February 2018, a river of red mud rushed through 13 communities in the town of Barcarena, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará. While the region was being battered by heavy rains at the time, the sludge flooding the city was not merely dirty water.

Months later, in the dry season, the same town was enveloped in by a red dust cloud, harming the soil and air quality. According to later investigations, the toxic dust and red mud were caused by a leak of chemical tailings in a nearby facility owned by Norwegian mining firm Hydro Alunorte, regarded as being the largest bauxite refinery in the world.

The leak meant disaster for riverside communities, who rely on the natural resources of rivers and streams for survival. The only water they consume comes from these sources, and most of their diet is based on the fish caught in rivers.

Two years on, those affected by the leak in Barcarena are still awaiting compensation. On Monday, they filed a class action in the Dutch capital Amsterdam against Hydro Alunorte’s parent company Norsk Hydro, of which the Norwegian government owns a 34.3-percent stake. 

Norsk Hydro oversees three facilities in Pará. It extracts bauxite in the town of Paragominas, which is processed in Barcarena, before being transformed into aluminum at Albras. However, the headquarters of these three companies are located in the Netherlands, along with their major shareholders, who are a part of Norsk Hydro’s corporate structure. According to international law,...