Cases / Waste management · Chile · 2019
20,000 tonnes of arsenic-bearing sludge sent to Arica were left exposed
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The Ecologist reported in 2019 that a Swedish firm exported toxic waste to Chile, where 20,000 tonnes of sludge were left in the open. The sources reviewed do not report effects on the surrounding environment.
What?
About 20,000 tonnes of arsenic-bearing sludge sent to Arica, Chile, was left in the open. The Ecologist
Where?
Arica, Chile, after export from Sweden. The Ecologist
When?
Sludge reported in March 2019. The Ecologist
Who?
Gained
- Boliden — won the case The Ecologist
Lost
- Claimants (not named in the sources) — paid 3.2 million euros in court costs The Ecologist
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The waste was exported from Sweden to Arica and left in the open; the sources reviewed do not describe the disposal route. The Ecologist
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Ecologist reported in March 2019 that 20,000 tonnes of sludge sent to Arica, Chile, was left in the open.
According to the sources reviewed, the sludge was arsenic-bearing.
The sources reviewed say Boliden won the case, and the claimants paid 3.2 million euros in costs.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- Defendant wonArica sludge case· Civil · Claimants (not named in the sources) → Boliden
The sources reviewed say Boliden won the case and the claimants paid 3.2 million euros in costs. The Ecologist
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Promel went insolvent.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the case was dismissed on limitation grounds.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state the court or the legal ground for the outcome.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not report harm to people or the environment in Arica.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not report whether the sludge has been removed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Swedish firm exported toxic waste to ChileThe Ecologist · 2019-03
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Aznalcóllar mine spill (Spain) Spain · 1998–2025
- Boliden (Company) — here: won the case, according to the sources reviewed; there: Mine operator (Boliden Apirsa)