Brazilians turn to Dutch courts against Braskem
Nine residents of Maceió, Alagoas state, who had their homes or land damaged by activities carried out by the petrochemical company Braskem, are taking legal action in the Netherlands. They are asking for compensation for “moral and individual damages” resulting from the disaster caused by the company, which operates rock salt mines in the city.
According to the law firm Pogust Goodhead, hired by the Brazilians for the lawsuit in the Netherlands, where the company is based, the first hearing took place Thursday (Feb. 15) at the Rotterdam District Court. The nine plaintiffs are seeking a declaratory judgment of liability and compensation for both material and moral damages. The proceedings will determine the petrochemical company’s responsibility for the sinking of the victims’ homes and land.
At the first hearing, the two parties in the case were heard: the victims and Braskem. Further hearings are expected to be requested from now on, as well as investigation into the case.
“The Braskem Group is responsible for the damage caused in Maceió, including its Dutch subsidiaries, which benefit from Braskem’s profits and contribute to its mining activities in Brazil and around the world,” the victims’ lawyers stated.
In this connection, the lawyers argue that the two branches of the company “must compensate for the damages suffered by the plaintiffs.” In a statement, the lawyers pointed out that the Maceió residents had already described “the small sums” offered in Brazil by the company for the damage caused to their properties as “shameful and demoralizing.”
“The substantive law applied in the case will be Brazilian law, which is extremely developed and progressive when it comes to the environment and social issues,” the law firm declared in a note. According to Pogust Goodhead, eight of the nine victims of the lawsuit are in the Netherlands to attend the hearing.
The company
In a statement to Agência Brasil, Braskem said it had submitted to the court the Financial Compensation and Relocation Support Program, approved by the Brazilian courts and monitored by federal and state prosecutors, the public defender’s office, and the government of Alagoas. According to the company, 99.8 percent of the compensation proposals for residents had been brought forward and 94.5 percent had been paid by the end of January. The disbursement totals BRL 9.2 billion—of which BRL 4.4 billion in compensation and BRL 3.9 billion under the program.
“It is important to note that the program is voluntary, and participants are assisted by a lawyer of their choice—with the cost reimbursed by Braskem—or by a public defender. Despite the possibility of appealing to the courts to determine the amount of compensation quickly and free of charge, the general rate of acceptance of the proposals has been over 99 percent since the program began,” the note reads.
Still according to the company, the group that appealed to the Dutch courts has already received a proposal for compensation. Braskem went on to argue that the cases should be resolved by the Brazilian courts. “Braskem, through its representatives, has been adopting the appropriate procedural measures and reaffirms its commitment to spare no effort to preserve people’s safety and realize financial compensation in the shortest possible time. These are priorities for the company, which is why it will continue to work diligently in Maceió.”
Disaster
The disaster in the Alagoas capital was caused by Braskem’s decades-long exploitation of rock salt in underground deposits. Rock salt is a type of salt used in the chemical industry.
In 2018, an underground cavity left by the company was identified, which led to soil instability in some neighborhoods in Maceió. Some of them had to be completely evacuated in 2020 because of tremors, cracks, and sinkholes.
