Toxic justice
toxicjustice.org is an open source archive inspired by the films Toxic Playground and Arica.
The court case
Arica Victims v Boliden was a lawsuit in which the limited partnership Arica Victims represented 796 Chilean citizens who were injured by the wetland sludge from Rönnskärsverken in Sweden containing high levels of arsenic, shipped by Boliden to Arica, Chile, during 1984-1985.
The District Court chose to apply Chilean law in the case, but did not find that the plaintiffs showed sufficient evidence to connect the injuries with the waste from Sweden.
The case went to the Swedish Court of appeal, who decided that Swedish law should be applied, meaning that the injuries, having occurred more than 10 years after the initial incident, could not be tried under Swedish Law.
In 2021, a group of UN experts examined the case, and wrote to the Swedish and Chilean governments, along with the managing director of Boliden, asking them to resolve the ongoing ‘violations of human rights’ in Arica.
Court decisions
UN
Background
In 1984, the Swedish mining company Boliden had toxic waste shipped to Chile, where it was supposed to be properly processed. In reality, some of the waste was dumped on the outskirts of the desert town of Arica. The consequences were severe: in the years that followed, residents developed cancer and many babies were born with birth defects.
The film
Filmmakers William Johansson Kalen and Lars Edman have covered the case since their first film Boliden (2010). In their following film Arica (2020) we get an insight look inside the powerful case brought upon the mining company responsible.Filmmakers William Johansson Kalen and Lars Edman have covered the case since their first film Boliden (2010). In their following film Arica (2020) we get an insight look inside the powerful case brought upon the mining company responsible.Filmmakers William Johansson Kalen and Lars Edman have covered the case since their first film Boliden (2010). In their following film Arica (2020) we get an insight look inside the powerful case brought upon the mining company responsible.
Filmmakers William Johansson Kalen and Lars Edman have covered the case since their first film Boliden (2010). In their following film Arica (2020) we get an insight look inside the powerful case brought upon the mining company responsible.
Read more at www.aricafilm.com
Community
They’re Everywhere! Big Companies in Legal Scrapes Turn to Science-for-Hire Giant Exponent The Fall of Icarus is the Greek myth about a youth who gets a pair of wax-and-feather wings but soars…
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In a newspaper interview (Dagens Nyheter), the former minister of energy, Birgitta Dahl admits that she approved Boliden’s export of toxic waste to Arica. In the article she describes it as one…
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Professor Jonas Ebbesson, member of the Arica Victims’ legal team in the trial vs Boliden Mineral, writes an Opinion Editorial in Dagens Nyheter, the most significant newspaper in Sweden. Referring to international law,…
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The Chilean town Arica has since the 80’s been polluted by chemicals like lead, arsenic and mercury. This has led to death and sickness in the community. Now the Environmental Justice Atlas…
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In a note to the film team the Embassy states: ”The Embassy of Chile recognizes the importance of responsible handling of toxic substances and the consequences for humans, the subject of the…
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In a class action-lawsuit against Boliden, the Skellefteå district court ruled in favor of the mining company. 796 victims from Arica in Chile, sued the Swedish mining company for more than 100…
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UN letters include harsh criticism of Swedish government and Boliden mining company Over 30 years after Swedish mining company Boliden shipped almost 20,000 tonnes of toxic mining waste to the Chilean city…
Minister of Foreign Affairs – Anna Lindh Response to written question from Eva Zetterberg (v) June 30th 2000 Eva Zetterberg has asked me, referring to the health problems affecting the population in…
With nearly 100 countries on board, an international agreement which bans the exporting of toxic waste from developed to developing countries has entered into force. While this landmark move will help protect…
The Court of Appeal for northern Norrland announced on March 27th the ruling in the case about Boliden’s deliveries to Arica, Chile in the mid 1980’s. The court found, like the district…
The tide is turning against the global toxic waste trade, as an appeal court in Sweden considers the plight of nearly 12,000 victims. The Swedish mining conglomerate Boliden began shipping toxic waste…
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