Spain - The Sad Lesson of the Doñana Disaster

the sad lesson of the doñana disaster

toxic mining spill damages world-famous nature area

josé antonio pascual trillo, foe spain

Early on the morning of 25 April 1998, a dam containing stagnant, toxic waste water from the Aznacóllar Mine burst. Five million cubic metres of heavy-metal laden water broke free and flowed into the Guadiamar river, directly polluting more than 4,400 hectares of land and wiping out almost all life in the river.

The Aznacóllar disaster is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong with mines even in well-developed countries with strong regulations. The lead-zinc mine, located near Seville in the southern Spanish province of Andalucía, was owned by the Swedish-Canadian transnational Boliden-Apirsa.

warnings not heeded
In 1995, accusations from two mine workers alerted authorities to the dam's condition and the possibility of contamination of the Guadiamar river. Boliden responded that the dam wall was entirely safe. Just over two years later, the dam collapsed.

attempts to contain toxic flow
Anxiety over the severely toxic overflow was compounded by its proximity to Doñana National Park, a UN World Heritage Area and home to six million migratory birds as well as the habitat for rare species such as lynx, otters and imperial eagles.

Aided by neighbouring landowners who were also affected, government authorities strengthened river banks and built protective dykes to stop contaminated waters from invading the park. But despite their attempts to rebuild the mine's broken dam, contaminated waters continued to flow over its walls. Fortunately, the most valuable wetland areas were not polluted. Nonetheless, a huge area of land was contaminated, endangering humans and wildlife alike. Over the next few years, work to eliminate the toxic sediments from this land will continue.

scientific follow-up
Teams were formed to supervise follow-up and recovery efforts, led by a group of experts designated by Spain's Higher Council of Scientific Investigation. Their studies indicate that the severe metal and arsenic contamination of the Guadiamar river's mud and sediments has diminished. The river's fish are only just recovering. Metal concentrations in aquatic organisms, although lower than before, remain above normal. Certain invertebrate species selected as indicator species still show severe concentrations of heavy metals and a high degree of toxicity.

There are also significant concentrations of metals in surrounding trees. Yet Doñana's bird colonies have been less affected than first feared, thanks to some accidental factors, such there being lower numbers present at the park during the winter of 1999/2000. Still, there is uncertainty over the scope of ecological damage.

profits privatized, losses socialized
The Aznacóllar disaster illustrates the inherent risks of mining, the threats posed to the environment, and the control --or lack thereof -- we have over mining companies. Because the village of Aznacóllar was economically dependent on the mine, Boliden was given exceptional subsidies for cleaning up, controlling the overflow, and keeping their activities running. After their surprising acquittal in a highly-criticized court case over their role in the disaster, Boliden closed the mine without accepting any responsibility or paying any of the costs of the accident.

The high costs of the disaster's mitigation have been almost entirely covered by public institutions, and paid for by the entire population through taxes. The same will go for the social costs generated by the mine's closure and subsequent economic collapse of the region, and for compensation to local fishers, farmers and cattle ranchers who lost income due to the disaster.

The judicial and political systems' incapacity to hold Boliden responsible says much about our society's inability to deal with and prevent such risks. It also questions the wisdom of socio-economic dependency of entire populations on mining ventures with high environmental risks. What is clear is that the well-known and highly perverse strategy of privatized profits and socialized losses continues to apply. This is a pitiful environmental strategy.

Finally, when one realizes that a disaster like that in Aznacóllar can take place with total impunity in a European Union country, it isn't hard to imagine the real impacts – both reported and unreported – that result from mining activities in less wealthy countries. Fewer regulations and a high political and economic dependency on foreign firms and investment capital make poorer nations less able to prevent, or deal with the aftermath, of toxic disasters like that of Aznacóllar.