Boliden paid in 1984 the chilean mining company Promel, in the city of Arica in order to receive the tailings from Skellefteå. The waste contained high levels of substances such as mercury, lead and arsenic that would be extracted.

But there was no reprocessing, instead people became seriously ill and many died.

the landfill has organized themselves in the Arica Victims, pointed out, Boliden, as the committee and pushed the dispute. We are at the end of the trial.

– Boliden knew that it required a smelter to extract the arsenic, and they knew that the chilean company had not been one. Already where it goes wrong, ” says Göran Starkebo, representatives of the chilean side.

Boliden, on the other hand, argue that the lack of connection between their sludge and damage. Moreover, it emphasizes that all the necessary condition existed.

– There is no negligent behaviour from Boliden’s side of the deal, ” says Robin Oldenstam, Boliden’s lawyer.

and the court of appeal in Umeå has shown that there are two versions of everything around the store.

Arica in Chile. Photo: Thomas Karlsson

the Parties disagree on how the wind blows in the Arica and what those who live there drink and eat. The dispute as to whether it required a Swedish export licences or not, whether the international rules for gruvavfallsförsäljning that was in the 80’s and how they would be interpreted. The battles also if it is at all Boliden’s old residue that caused the damage to the 796 the chileans. There were other waste heaps in the area. They are actually not even agree that there is an injury.

Arsenic in urine is the target thread but there are not two but four standards.

at least 30 micrograms of arsenic per liter, which sued Boliden. It justifies the demarcation of the border with that there then can be no doubt, and it is supported by a witness.

Boliden has called an expert witness who says that 100 is the level to which one should relate to. Chilean HD has ruled that anything over 19 is harmful while Chile’s counterpart to the Swedish environmental protection agency, embracing 25.

When Arica Victims lost in the Skellefteå district court, the court considered that it would be deleted from the chilean laws and practices. But instead of using the 19 micrograms per liter, which is, therefore, Chile’s HD was ruled that the damage was the limit at 100.

Just a few Aricabor had such high levels.

– the district Court has drawn a strange conclusion, when it only partially applies to the chilean high-definition judgment. This is the nyckelpusselbiten in the case, ” says Johan Öberg, lawyer for Arica Victims.

has been calculated to be 20.000, but one is missing. There are handanteckningar from the various meetings before 1984, sketches, drawings and barely legible telex between buyers and sellers. The actual main document, överlåtelsehandlingen, is missing however.

“We have to, and with the number on the contract and we have searched it both in Sweden and in Chile,” says Starkebo and continues:

” It would have been useful to have it. We know today not even if there is a sale. It could be that the Boliden bought a service and if storage of the waste and then end up the target in a completely different light.

Eva Rydén, senior legal counsel at Boliden:

” We have really been looking for the documentation. It would have been interesting to have see how it looked but there is no reason to believe that it contained anything other than what’s been said in the target. It is unlikely that Boliden would have done all of the trouble in 1984 with checks and visits if the intention was just to get rid of the material.