(AGN) – A human rights complaint against the British subsidiary of the mining giant Glencore \u201cmerits further examination\u201d according to a monitoring group that looked into a toxic wastewater spill in the north central African nation of Chad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of villagers \u2013 including children \u2013 claim they suffered severe burns, skin lesions and sickness after contact with contaminated water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The complaint was brought before Britain\u2019s Dept. of International Trade by three human rights groups. It alleges environmental abuses in relation to two serious spillages – a wastewater spill when an earth bank supporting a wastewater basin at the Badila oilfield collapsed, and an alleged oil spill, both in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the wastewater spill, the equivalent of 34 Olympic-sized swimming pools of contaminated water overran fields and a local river, killing livestock and fish and causing at least 50 local people to fall sick with skin lesions, vomiting and diarrhea, the groups say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents claim the wastewater basin had been leaking for weeks before it collapsed. They said Glencore failed to properly address the problem or to warn local residents about the impending danger, and Glencore has still not acknowledged the harm caused or provided a remedy, they allege. A few weeks after the incident, residents also reported an oil pipe leak, which is contested by the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n