Norsk Hydro sued over alleged river contamination in Brazil

Norway's Norsk Hydro was accused in a Dutch court on Friday of letting the world's biggest aluminium plant pollute a Brazilian river for years, causing grave health problems for locals.

Nine victims and an association said to represent around 11,000 indigenous families from the northeastern Brazilian river port of Barcarena are suing Norsk, seven subsidiaries and shareholders -- six based in the Netherlands -- over alleged spills from the Alunorte plant over at least 20 years.

"A lot of people have suffered horrible health effects as a result... That dates back at least two decades," one of the claimants' lawyers, Marc Krestin, told AFP.

"Some developed various forms of cancer. Others developed skin diseases... Babies have been born with their intestines outside their bodies."

The aluminium and hydropower giant denies responsibility in the case, which is to establish liability. Any eventual claim for compensation would be heard separately.

The claimants' lawyers say that in the latest case in 2018, heavy rainfall caused reservoirs at the plant to overflow and contaminate the Barcarena municipality's water supply.

"Large amount of toxic sludge... turned the rivers red," they said in a statement ahead of the case at Rotterdam District Court.

The alleged contamination has "resulted in many of the indigenous tribes ... suffering from poor physical health as well as taking away their income and access to food and clean water", the lawyers added.

Brazilian authorities have also accused the company of contaminating Barcarena's drinking water with bauxite residues and have imposed heavy fines.

Barcarena is located near the city of Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon river.

The alleged victims testifying on Friday include Maria do Socorro da Silva, head of Brazilian association Cainquiama, which represents the families.

She has reportedly faced death threats for her campaigning.

Norsk Hydro's senior vice president for media relations, Halvor Molland, said the facts of the case were already "being discussed before Brazilian courts".

"We therefore believe these issues are best addressed locally in Brazil and have asked that the Dutch court stays the matter until a final decision has been reached in the Brazilian cases," he told AFP in an email.

"(The) allegations remain unsubstantiated and there is no evidence of contamination in the communities caused by Alunorte related to the February 2018 rainfall," Molland said.

A decision on the case could take several months.

Environmental groups have used Dutch courts to take on a number of multinational companies including Shell, as well as the Dutch government.

Drought hits Italy's hydroelectric plants
Rome (AFP) June 24, 2022 - Hydroelectric power in Italy has plunged this year thanks to a drought that has also sparked water restrictions and fears for agriculture, industry sources said Friday.

Hydropower facilities, mostly located in the mountains in the country's north, provide almost one fifth of Italy's energy demands.

But the lack of rain is causing problems, at a time when Rome is desperately trying to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine.

"From January to May 2022, hydro production fell by about 40 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2021," a spokesman for Utilitalia, a federation of water companies, told AFP.

"Hydro production has been steadily decreasing since July 2021," he said, blaming "the severe shortage of water even at high levels".

An industry source told AFP that while the situation was constantly changing, estimates for the first six months of 2022 suggest nationwide hydroelectric generation will be almost half the equivalent period of 2021.

One small plant near Piacenza, southeast of Milan, was shut indefinitely on June 21 due to low levels on the River Po that feeds it, the Enel energy company said.

"Considering the current drought situation, other hydro plants are not operating at full capacity," a spokesman added, without giving further details.

The Po River is Italy's largest reservoir of fresh water. Much of it used by farmers, but is suffering its worst drought for 70 years.

Italy's largest agricultural association, Coldiretti, said the drought is putting over 30 percent of national agricultural production and half of livestock farming in the Po Valley at risk.

On Friday, the northern region of Lombardy called a state of emergency due to the drought, that recommends, among other measures, less water use by consumers and directs mayors to curtail non-essential water use, such as street washing and watering parks and sportsgrounds.

Further to the west in Piedmont, water is being rationed in more than 200 municipalities, according to the ANSA news agency.

The Maggiore and Garda lakes are both far lower than usual for this time of year, while further south, the level of the River Tiber that runs through Rome has also dropped.

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Drought hits Italy's hydroelectric plants
Rome (AFP) June 24, 2022
Hydroelectric power in Italy has plunged this year thanks to a drought that has also sparked water restrictions and fears for agriculture, industry sources said Friday. Hydropower facilities, mostly located in the mountains in the country's north, provide almost one fifth of Italy's energy demands. But the lack of rain is causing problems, at a time when Rome is desperately trying to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine. "From January to May 2022, hydro pro ... read more