Hydro Alunorte is the world's largest alumina refinery and it is located in Bacarena, close to Belém, State of Pará. In 1984, the first industry established in the area was a project with Japanese capital called Albras-Alunorte, which now belongs to Brazilian-headquartered private corporation Vale. According to Aguiar, Cardoso and Vecchione [1], "The project was part of the global process of relocating polluting and energy-intensive industries to the South. More specifically, it was part of Japan’s decision –in the context of the 1970s oil crisis– to outsource the production of aluminum needed to feed its post-War industrial boom. The Brazilian military regime embraced the opportunity to host aluminum processing in the Amazon, signing up to huge debts denominated in Japanese yen. It then took on the task of building the energy infrastructure needed for the industry to flourish. The Tucuruí megadam, built in the late 1970s in the Tocantins River, was inaugurated in 1984 and resulted in social and environmental disasters of great proportions. Since then, Tucuruí megadam has been providing energy to the aluminum industry at subsidized rates." The authors continue: "The process of turning Barcarena into an industrial center started during the time of the military dictatorship but continued unabated in the era of post-democratization government planning. It turned the area into an important vector of several trade corridors with hydroways and pipelines transporting kaolin and bauxite. In recent years, continued extractivism and little aggregate value processing of its produce has become part of the economic policy of ensuring continuous trade surplus through the export of commodities." [1] Hydro Alunorte refinery started its operations in 1995, since then it supplies domestic markets but mostly international ones (as 86% of the production goes for export). The plant transforms a mineral abundant in the Amazon, bauxite, into alumina. The refinery’s owners are today Norsk Hydro, whose main shareholders are the Norwegian state (34,3%), the Norwegian Government Pension Fund (6,81%), and several transnational financial corporations. The factory Albras (Alumínio Brasileiro S.A.) transforms Alunorte’s alumina into aluminum and is owned by Norsk Hydro (51%) and the Japanese consortium NAAC (Nippon Amazon Aluminum Co. Ltd) (49%). Industries in the region also include, amongst others, steel plant Usipar and kaolin processing Imerys Rio Capim Caulim S.A. and PPSA (Pará Pigmentos S.A.). Since the 2000´s irregularities were detected by public entities such as the Instituto Evandro Chagas (IEV) from the Ministry of Health. Scientific experts from the IEV detected water pollution in the community of Barcarena threatening the environmental and human health. Especially children which some of them were previously diagnosed with skin and visual problems related with water pollution according to the doctors. Workers of the company have also been affected. By that time, IEV confirmed that water pollution was caused by leakage and toxic waste of Hydro Alunorte. The whole process of producing aluminum is in fact water-and energy-intensive and is highly air-polluting. One of the most important leakage was in 2009 when the company contaminated important rivers with lead and mercury. In that year, the company was fined with (R$ 17.000.000) but it never paid. The company admitted it discharged untreated rain and surface water into a river, which it called “unacceptable,” but has denied significant parts of prosecutors’ allegations and has said there was no evidence of a lasting environmental impact. Dwellers and local organisations with the support of Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) have highly denounced this situation against Brazilians authorities. Violence against environmental defenders is visible, Paulo Sérgio Almeida Nascimento who was active in denouncing the company was shot dead in March 2018 he was the leader of the Associação dos Caboclos, indígenas e Quilombolas da Amazônia (CAINQUIAMA) an environmental justice organization who denounced the company several times. Based on death threats Paulo had asked for governmental protection but it was denied which resulted in his death. In May 2018, a Brazilian federal judge upheld a state court decision forcing Norsk Hydro to cut output at a major alumina refinery, after the metals maker admitted to making unlicensed emissions of untreated water during severe rains in February. As a result, the company was ordered to slash output by half at the refinery [2] . |
Name of conflict: | Hydro Alunorte alumina refinery in Barcarena, Pará, Brazil. |
Country: | Brazil |
State or province: | Pará |
Location of conflict: | Barcarena |
Accuracy of location | HIGH (Local level) |
Type of conflict. 1st level: | Industrial and Utilities conflicts |
Type of conflict. 2nd level: | Landfills, toxic waste treatment, uncontrolled dump sites Tailings from mines Metal refineries Mineral processing |
Specific commodities: | Aluminum/Bauxite Water Land Calcined alumina (intermediate stage between bauxite and aluminum) |
Project details | - Hydro Alunorte is the world's largest alumina refinery - After 20 years in operation, the company supplies the domestic and international markets. -Currently, Hydro Alunorte exports its products to ten countries in the Middle East, North America and Europe. -Since it was inaugurated in 1995, the refinery has undergone three expansions that increased its production capacity, all of which were implemented without any production downtime. - The company generates around 4,400 direct and indirect jobs. - The 14% of its production is for internal consumption and 86% for exportation. |
Type of population | Semi-urban |
Start of the conflict: | 1995 |
Company names or state enterprises: | Norsk Hydro from Norway Alumínio Brasileiro S.A. from Brazil Vale (Vale) from Brazil |
Relevant government actors: | IBAMA (Brazil’s environmental agency); Federal Public Ministry (MPF); Secretaria Estadual de Meio Ambiente e Sustentabilidade (SEMAS);Ministry of Health; |
International and Finance Institutions | Norges Bank from Norway |
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available: | Ejos: Amazon Association of Mixed Race; Associação dos Caboclos, indígenas e Quilombolas da Amazônia (CAINQUIAMA); Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB); Supporters: Evandro Chagas Institute of Brazil’s Ministry of Health; Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA); Comissão de Direitos Humanos da Assembleia Legislativa do Pará; |
Intensity | HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...) |
Reaction stage | In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation) |
Groups mobilizing: | Indigenous groups or traditional communities Local ejos Neighbours/citizens/communities Social movements Ethnically/racially discriminated groups Local scientists/professionals National EJOS |
Forms of mobilization: | Involvement of national and international NGOs Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Media based activism/alternative media Objections to the EIA Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns |
Environmental Impacts | Visible: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Mine tailing spills, Waste overflow Potential: Food insecurity (crop damage) |
Health Impacts | Visible: Accidents, Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Occupational disease and accidents, Other environmental related diseases |
Other Health impacts | Visible: Skin problems in children due to the exposition to contaminated water; "According to studies made of the soil, the leaked material had high concentration of iron, aluminum, zinc and cadmium—these accumulate in the body and may cause degenerative diseases, hepatic dysfunctions, immunological deficiencies, and dementia."[1] |
Socio-economical Impacts | Visible: Loss of livelihood, Violations of human rights, Loss of landscape/sense of place, Increase in violence and crime |
Project Status | In operation |
Conflict outcome / response: | Criminalization of activists Deaths, Assassinations, Murders Court decision (victory for environmental justice) Repression Violent targeting of activists Application of existing regulations Project temporarily suspended |
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?: | Yes |
Briefly explain: | On April 2018, the federal court ordered the partial suspension of mining activities in Barcarena. |
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Related media links to videos, campaigns, social network |
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Contributor: | ENVJustice Project |
Last update | 18/08/2019 |
Conflict ID: | 2952 |
Images |
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A satellite view of the Norske Hydro Alunorte facility as seen from space.
Source: a Satellite image from Google Maps.
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Hydro Alunorte
Source: Hydro Alunorte
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A satellite view of the Norske Hydro Alunorte facility as seen from space.
Source: a Satellite image from Google Maps.
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Hydro Alunorte
Source: Hydro Alunorte
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