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Norsk Hydro faces 6,000 lawsuits over 2009 red mud spill in Brazil
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
Around 6,000 lawsuits have been filed against Norway-based aluminium firm Norsk Hydro in a Brazilian small-claims court in relation to a 2009 water spill at an alumina refinery, the firm said on Friday.A spill at Hydro's majority-owned Alunorte alumina refinery in Brazil in 2009 has resulted in a series of new claims in a local small-claims court. The spill, where water with red mud and bauxite residue overflowed the drainage channels around a deposit, occurred two years before Hydro acquired a majority stake in the world's largest alumina refinery.
Red mud deposit: Alunorte's red mud spill happened after an unusually heavy and long rainfall in April 2009. After the incident, the company strengthened both the deposit and the drainage channels to prevent spills from recurring.
"The lawsuits, about 6,000 in total, have been submitted before a small-claims court in Barcarena, in the state of Pará, but have still not been served to (subsidiary) Alunorte, where Hydro increased its ownership interest from 34 to 91 percent in 2011," it said in a statement.
"Hydro is not yet familiar with the details of the new cases... (and) the court has informally notified us that due to the holiday season, it could still take several weeks before we are formally served with all the lawsuits."
Red mud deposit: Alunorte's red mud spill happened after an unusually heavy and long rainfall in April 2009. After the incident, the company strengthened both the deposit and the drainage channels to prevent spills from recurring.
"The lawsuits, about 6,000 in total, have been submitted before a small-claims court in Barcarena, in the state of Pará, but have still not been served to (subsidiary) Alunorte, where Hydro increased its ownership interest from 34 to 91 percent in 2011," it said in a statement.
"Hydro is not yet familiar with the details of the new cases... (and) the court has informally notified us that due to the holiday season, it could still take several weeks before we are formally served with all the lawsuits."
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