Arica Toxic Waste Case Study

Arica, Chile’s northernmost city’s poorest districts have been contaminated with high concentrations of toxic metals, including lead and mercury. In 1985, the Swedish mining company Boliden, began exporting toxic mining waste to Chile. The reasoning for this action was twofold: Boliden wished to avoid the restrictions on toxic waste exportation that would soon be passed with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, passed in 1989 (Orellana, Boyd et al 2021), and simultaneously claimed that a Chilean mining and processing company, Promel Ltda, was to process the waste and extract the remaining gold, silver, and arsenic. However, Promel didn’t have the capacity to carry out this operation, and instead dumped the waste on the outskirts of Arica (Medel-Jara, Gejman, et al. 2023).

All of these actions were illegal. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency — which prohibits the exportation of toxic waste — was aware of Boliden’s actions, yet they were not addressed. The Chilean authorities, however, received false information as to the contents of the waste, as Promel claimed it was non-toxic. Both Chile’s border and sanitation authorities were negligent in their investigations, allowing the toxic waste to make its way to Arica (Orellana, Boyd, et al. 2021).

The waste was dumped in Sitio F, on the eastern side of the city near many low-income communities, from 1985-1989. In total, almost 20,000 tons of mining waste containing lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, among other heavy metals were dumped. The toxic metals stayed in the water and soil for years, and ill health effects were discovered among the neighborhood’s population in the mid-1990s — especially children, who used the dump as a playground, unaware of its toxic effects, and the elderly. Some physical health problems included pain in the joints and bones, conjunctivitis, allergies, anemia, respiratory issues, and cancer. For pregnant women, miscarriage and birth defects became more common along with a rise in infertility (Nikoghosyan 2021). In addition, citizens of Arica suffered mental and psychological issues like irritability, neuroses, stress, memory loss, tiredness, and chronic fatigue (Smith 2021). These dangerous toxins had reached 5,000 people by 1998, and an estimated 12,000 in 2019 (Pino Vargas 2019). As a result of an internal investigation, the waste was relocated in 1998 from Sitio F to a location known as Quebrada Encantada — or Enchanted Ravine — about 650 meters from Cerro Chuño. It was supposed to be a temporary relocation, until a safe storage location was sourced. However, the waste remains, uncovered, at this site.

A few residents brought the case to court in the late 1990s, and even fewer saw success in the court system. Despite the passage of new laws intended to fix the environmental contamination, an internal audit in 2007 revealed that the requirements of these agencies weren’t being met (Orellana, Boyd, et al. 2021). The Chilean government oversaw the destruction of about 1000 homes and rehoming of residents in the Cerro Chuño area, but the majority still occupy the area. Migrants, indigenous people, and asylum seekers have also continued to occupy the abandoned areas where they have no need to pay rent or electric bills, and thus have no legal protection against the toxic

contamination (Maroto 2023). In leaked memos, Richard Denniss, the chief economist to the Australia Institute, stated in regard to the dumping in Arica, “since toxic waste will inevitably make someone sick, we might as well make poor people sick, as doing so will minimize the amount of ‘foregone earnings’...[and]... if it takes years for some pollutants to make us sick, why not dump pollution in countries where people don’t live long enough to get sick from the pollution?” (Pino Vargas 2019). Denniss’ words echo an unspoken sentiment of this case study: waste can and should be dumped on the powerless because their health and well-being matters less.

In 2013, a group of Arica residents took the case to the Swedish Court of Appeals, where they were denied a trial. It was determined that the case was time-barred, as it had been almost 35 years since the waste was dumped (Smith 2021). This is an obvious breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial. The organization of Arica citizens that originally took the case to court is now bankrupt, as they were unable to pay the 3.5 million euros demanded of them by Boliden for legal fees. In addition, Boliden representatives allegedly threatened the citizens’ lawyers with the fees, intended to dissuade them and others from bringing similar suits in the future (Orellana, Boyd, et al. 2021). The continued exposure of Arica residents to toxic metals was a failure by the Swedish and Chilean governments and companies to protect them. Justice was not served for most of these people, and they are still living with the consequences daily (Nikoghosyan 2021).

Not only do heavy metals in the water have detrimental effects on human health, they also cause significant harm to marine ecosystems. Mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic are highly toxic, even at low concentrations. In the presence of heavy metals, fish experience reduced hatching rates and lead accumulation in their organs which can lead to health issues (Al Taee, Al-Mullah, et al. 2020). Additionally, as intoxicated fish move up the food chain through the trophic levels in a process called biomagnification, the heavy metals pose health risks for all of those organisms (Khushbu, Gulati, et al. 2022). Ultimately, this can lead to a loss in marine biodiversity. Heavy metals in the water are not biodegradable by bacteria or other organisms and therefore, they continuously affect the underwater environment (Sonone, Jadhav, et al. 2020). Without a doubt, heavy metal remediation is vital to recover from the misconducts of Boliden.

here are many new methods for toxic waste removal and it is possible to entirely decontaminate the area; however, these methods have not been implemented in Arica. Due to political issues and local gangs, the Chilean government has not devoted the time or resources to take any action.

The Environmental Protection Agency has provided many suggestions for cleaning up heavy metals in the water and soil similar to the situation in Arica. One of these ideas is the complete excavation of the affected area. However, this solution is simply moving the waste from one place to another which will just create an unsafe living environment somewhere else. They have also suggested adding chemicals to the soil in order to stabilize the heavy metals which will form minerals that can be absorbed by other plants. This allows the plants to soak up the metals and then dispose of them safely in a process called phytoremediation (Lambert, Leven, et al. 2000).

Utilizing the bacteria E. coli is another solution to the removal of toxic metals, specifically mercury, from the environment. Genetically modified strains of E. coli can absorb a high amount of mercury which can in turn remove it from important resources such as water (Wang, He, et al. 2017).

In addition, white rot fungi (WRF) has been proven valuable in bioremediation of heavy metals from the environment. Heavy metals can bind to WRF cell walls because of interactions with functional groups such as OH, –NH, C–H, and –COOH in a process called bioabsorption. Via biomineralization, WRF can convert heavy metals into less toxic forms. An example of this is reducing hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) to trivalent chromium (Cr3+). Some WRF strains, or types, can also store heavy metals inside their cells in vacuoles. Employing these methods, WRF are able to remediate high amounts of lead, cadmium, chromium, and copper, as well as mercury, uranium, and nickel (Chen, Zhang, et al. 2022).

This being said, introducing WRF to the water and land of Arica would require additional research. It is necessary to test strains of WRF in conditions that mimic the waters and land of the toxic dump to monitor fungi’s reaction and performance. Small-scale trials will likely need to be carried out in a controlled area of the heavy metal dump. Upon success of small-scale trials, WRF can be deployed on a larger scale by spreading fungal spores or introducing pre-grown fungal mats. As this method is biological remediation, fungal strains local to Arica should be used to minimize the risk of WRF becoming an invasive species. For this, containment strategies would also be useful to limit the spread of the fungi (Steffen, Tuomeja 2010). Studies show that combining different remediation techniques would reap the best results (Chen, Zhang, et al. 2022).

Although the situation in Arica looks bleak, merit exists in imagining a town that is toxic metal waste free. If the Chilean government is able to find a way to devote time and effort to enforcing one of the scientific plans, the community potential in Arica is exponential.

Works Cited

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