How toxic waste poisoned Arica in Chile? | DW Documentary

In the 1980s, Swedish company Boliden shipped toxic waste to Chile. This had devastating consequences for the local population. In 2018, those affected sued to finally hold the company accountable.

When mining company Boliden shipped its toxic waste from Sweden to Chile in 1984, there was an agreement that the waste would be properly processed. But a huge pile of it was dumped on the outskirts of the desert city of Arica. Years later, many locals developed cancer, and children were born with birth defects.

Lars Edman was born in Chile and grew up in the Swedish city of Skellefteå, where the mining company was founded. The film he codirected in 2009, "Toxic Playground", first brought attention to the disaster, leading to the lawsuit against Boliden nearly a decade later.

The lawsuit is the focus of this film, in which subjects from "Toxic Playground" reappear. They include Jocelyn, a young girl at the time of the first film, who later named her first child after the filmmakers. Rolf Svedberg, who as the former head of Boliden's environmental department was partly responsible for shipping the toxic waste, also reappears. He had traveled to Arica with the filmmakers to face up to the consequences of his decision. During the trial, he finds himself in an awkward position. Boliden wants him to testify on behalf of the company, but he also appears in the plaintiffs' evidence, which includes excerpts from "Toxic Playground".


#documentary #dwdocumentary #chile
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