Court summons Braskem and raises action to R$ 1 billion due to risk of collapse in Maceió

The Federal Court of Alagoas accepted this Friday (1st) a public civil action against Braskem due to the risk of collapse in a rock salt mine in Maceió, which caused around five thousand people to be evacuated from a neighborhood in the city at risk. of soil subsidence.

The request for urgent protection requested by the Federal Public Ministry, the Public Ministry of the State of Alagoas and the Federal Public Defender’s Office increased the value of the action to R$ 1 billion, in addition to determining the inclusion of a new critical area to the containment plan for the petrochemical.

Braskem issued a note stating that it has already been notified of the Court’s decision and that it is evaluating the taking of “relevant measures within the applicable legal deadlines and will keep the market informed of any relevant developments on the matter”.

The Court’s decision also determined that Braskem hire independent and specialized technical assistance to support those affected in evaluating scenarios and making decisions about relocating or staying in risk areas.

The Court established that the company must enable the optional inclusion of all those affected whose properties are located in criticality area 01 of Version 5 of the Map, with the monetary update corresponding to the values ​​established by a program to repair the material and moral damage caused by the alleged devaluation of the property.

Braskem reiterated that it is mobilized and monitoring the situation at mine 18, located in the Mutange neighborhood. The company stated that it continues to take “all appropriate measures to minimize the impact of possible occurrences” and highlighted the implementation of monitoring with state-of-the-art equipment to detect movements in the region’s soil, enabling monitoring by authorities and the adoption of preventive measures .

The Alagoas Civil Defense declared an emergency due to the risk and stated that the subsidence of the soil in the Mutange neighborhood could occur this Friday (1st) and that, if this occurs, other excavations could be affected in the region.

The risk of collapse at the Braskem mine in Maceió has placed two of the state’s main politicians on a collision course: senator Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). Calheiros began to press for the progress of Braskem’s CPI in the Senate, while Lira adopted a more moderate tone of “union” of efforts.