MRF > Environment > Incidents > Los Frailes > Aftermath

Los Frailes Aftermath

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The Finances
The regional government has allocated Pta11 billion (US$75 million) for the disaster, of which Pta5 billion (US$34 million) has been allocated for clearing and rehabilitating the land and Pta6 billion (US$41 million) for compensation. The compensation is to enable the regional government to buy the affected farms. In addition, the central government has allocated Pta4.5 billion (US$31 million) to help pay for the rehabilitation work.

As well as paying for the clean-up operations and rehabilitation work in its area of responsibility, Boliden has offered to pay US$6.5 million compensation for the crops that have to be destroyed and the lost harvest.

The Ramifications
The press coverage that the failure of the tailings dam has received has been extensive and, unfortunately, the excess reporting has caused untold economic damage to the region. While no one will deny that the failure of the tailings impoundment is a disaster, the stories of contamination of the surface and ground water in the whole region have resulted in a 30-35% drop in market prices for produce from as far afield as the eastern side of the Rio Guadalquivir and a 10% drop in visitors to the Doñana National Park with many people cancelling because they were worried that they might be poisoned by eating the food and drinking the water in the area. It has been reported that seven wells that were sampled in Aquifer 27 have shown contamination with a pH of 6.5 plus elevated levels zinc and lead, but these reports have not been substantiated.

According to the WWF, a report from the Guadalquivir River Authority, part of Spain’s Ministry of the Environment, states that the Rio Guadiamar and all the aquifers in the area constitute a single unit. The river is the axis of the underground water system providing water to, or taking water from, the aquifer, depending of the hydrological situation. The river bed is directly connected with the alluvials (proximal small aquifers) which are connected to the deep aquifers. According to this report, the alluvials are already polluted and the pollution of the deep aquifers is only a matter of time.

The press, spurred on to a large extent by environmental NGOs, are also having a field day reporting all the rumours of dire warnings regarding the safety of the tailings impoundment given years prior to the failure, and the collaboration of the government and Boliden to suppress these reports. AGADEN, a local association for the protection of the environment, claims that in 1992 two employees of the Department of the Environment, with the support of AGADEN, filed reports about the environmental risks associated with the Aznalcõllar project that were never followed up. Then, in 1995, a former Boliden employee is said to have made a statement claiming that the tailings impoundment was not stable. The employee was discharged, apparently for unrelated reasons, and his charge was refuted by Boliden.

GEOCISA, the company that originally designed and built the tailings impoundment, was retained by Boliden as consultants to advise on the stability and extensions to the tailings impoundment. The last investigation was carried out on April 14, to establish the stability of the structure in the light of the very high levels of precipitation that had been experienced over winter. The company submitted its report five days before the failure happened and, according to Boliden, declared the embankment to be stable. This report has not been made public but, according to the government press office, a ‘leak’ claims that the danger of the embankment was highlighted in this document. In addition, Golder Associates conducted a hydrogeological study of the water seepage from the tailings dam and surrounding areas but again this report was not made public and is subject to similar rumours.

A spokesperson from AGADEN has claimed that, right from the start of Boliden’s involvement with Aznalcõllar, the government did not insist on the company complying with all the Spanish legal requirements, especially with regard to the environment. The reasons given for this were that APIRSA’s Aznalcõllar operations were no longer economically viable and that the mine was in danger of closing, with dire financial consequences for an already economically-depressed area. The government was therefore keen to see Boliden inject money into the project and to keep the operation going. AGADEN also claims that Boliden is "only really qualified to carry out mining operations", and "does not have the expertise required for processing and waste disposal".

Prior to the disaster, Boliden provided direct employment for 500 people at the Los Frailes operation and estimated that it provided indirect employment and support for at least 6,000. The town of Aznalcõllar, which has a total population of 5,000, is thought to be 70% reliant on the project. Quite soon after the failure of the tailings impoundment, rumours that Boliden was going to pull out of the project brought the people of Aznalcõllar out in support of the company, and a demonstration was organised with people marching to the project site with banners stating their support.

The president and chief executive officer for Boliden AB, Anders Bülow, stated that: "We maintain that Boliden has not been negligent in any way. However, as owner of the mine, Boliden will honour its responsibilities." The same press release went on to say that Boliden has comprehensive property damage and business interruption insurance with a limit of approximately US$66 million and third party liability insurance with a limit of approximately US$13 million.

According to Reuters, the Spanish Government holds Boliden responsible for the failure, and has vowed to pursue legal action. At the same time environmental NGOs have accused government officials of failing to monitor properly safety standards at the project and of mismanaging the emergency response. A regional branch of the United Left communist political group accused Boliden, the Spanish Environment Minister Isabel Tocino, and several regional officials of ecological violations.

The Spanish legal system allows for anyone to file a civil suit against Boliden or the government relating to the failure of the tailings impoundment, and a judge in Sanlúcar la Mayor has opened a case to deal with this issue. Any complaints are made to the judge, who can deny or accept them, and then sets the level of financial security. At the time of writing this article, four complaints had been accepted by the judge against Boliden and the government, and more are expected to follow. The complaints will then be heard as a single case, with each complainant having his or her say, before the court establishes responsibility for the disaster. The case may be referred to a superior court and could take years before it is heard. Similar cases have been known to take 15 years to come to resolution.

In the meantime, the farmers whose land has been inundated with the tailings seem to be suffering the most. The central and regional governments, while accepting Boliden’s offer to compensate the farmers for the lost crops, seem unable to agree on the methods of payment. So, while the bureaucrats argue, fruit is starting to rot on the trees and the farmers are deprived of an income. In addition, the government has decided to purchase all the affected farm land, in order to create a ‘green’ corridor along the river. However, the farmers are not keen to sell. Many of the affected farms are large with only a small percentage of the land having been contaminated, and the farmers do not see why they should lose everything. If it is determined to carry out this action, the government may be forced to requisition the land. Boliden can only stand by and watch.

By Meredith Sassoon
Freelance environmental management consultant.

With thanks to Boliden Apirsa, the Spanish Ministry of Environment, ASAJA, AGADEN and the Doñana National Park.