Swedish company Boliden must take care of its toxic waste in Chile

Between 1984 and 1985, the Swedish mining company Boliden Mineral AB shipped 20.000 tonnes of toxic waste, containing high concentrations of arsenic, mercury, cadmium and lead, from its smelter in Skellefteå, Sweden, to Arica, in northern Chile. The toxic waste was meant to be properly processed there, which never happened. Instead the waste was left outdoors and uncovered for years only 250 metres from Sica Sica, a neighbourhood of low-income family housing where thousands residents developed cancers and birth defects. Today the toxic waste is in a site called Quebrada Encantada, still exposed to the winds and rains, and posing risks to Arica residents and environment. After the screening of the Swedish documentary film Arica, United Nations Human Rights Council exhorts Boliden Mineral AB to take "urgent measures to repatriate the hazardous waste to Sweden or ensure the disposal of the waste in an environmentally sound manner". Additional measures should also be included to repair the harm Boliden has caused to the residents of Arica for decades, such as appropriate healthcare, reallocation and access to housing in non contaminated areas. The UN HRC letter: https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=26160