SAO PAULO — Brazil’s federal police on Friday indicted 20 individuals for rock salt mining within the northeastern coastal metropolis of Maceio that destroyed 5 city neighborhoods and compelled tens of 1000’s of individuals to depart their houses.
The alleged crimes embrace harm to public property and environmental crimes. A police supply, who spoke on situation of anonymity, confirmed to The Related Press that these indicted have been workers or contractors of Braskem, one of many largest petrochemical corporations within the Americas.
Braskem is owned primarily by Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras and building large Novonor, previously often called Odebrecht. It operated the mining of rock salt within the space for 4 many years and has been beneath investigation for the reason that neighborhoods started collapsing in 2018.
In an announcement to The Related Press, Braskem stated it had not but reviewed the complete police report and subsequently wouldn’t touch upon the people indicted who have been linked to the corporate. The petrochemical agency acknowledged that it has cooperated with the investigation and “has at all times acted in compliance with business legal guidelines and rules, repeatedly informing and reporting to the competent authorities.”
Rock salt mining is a technique of extracting salt from deep underground deposits. Nevertheless, brine-filled cavities left behind when the salt has been extracted can ultimately collapse, inflicting the soil above to settle. Constructions constructed on high of such areas can topple.
Round 200,000 individuals within the Alagoas state capital Maceio have been affected by the extreme extraction of rock salt, in line with the Brazil Senate’s web site.
In July, 2023, Braskem introduced a $356-million settlement with town. The cash could be used for structural works within the metropolis and for a residents’ help fund.
In December, a closed rock salt mine partially collapsed. The world had been beforehand evacuated.
