Umweltverbrechen multinationaler Konzerne - Greenpeace

Rhodia S.A. (Brazil)
Company details Rhodia S.A.
Chief Executive Official: Walter Cirillo
Facility involved in this case:
Cubatão Unit
Estrada Dom Domênico Rangoni Km 4 s/n – Bairro Industrial – CEP
11.500-000
Cubatão SP Brazil
Since Rhône-Poulenc (former owner of Rhodia) merged with
Hoechst Marion Roussel, the facility now belongs to Aventis.
Aventis Crop Science
Aventis SA
16 avenue de l’Europe
67300 Strasbourg
France
Tel +33-3-88-99-11-00
Fax +33-3-88-99-11-01
Other Facilities:
Rhodia Group have facilities in three different Brazilian states: São
Paulo (in Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, Jacareí, Paulínia
and Indaiatuba); Minas Gerais (in Poços de Caldas); and in
Pernambuco (in Cabo do Santo Agostinho).
Administrative Unit:
Centro Empresarial
Av. Maria Coelho Aguiar, 215, Bloco B, 1. andar, Jardim São Luiz -
CEP 05804-902
São Paulo – SP
Revenues in Latin America: USD 1.15 billion in 2000
Revenues in Brazil: USD 226 million in the first semester of 2001
Company activity Rhodia (Cubatão City) manufactured chemicals used for wood
treatment, such as pentachlorophenol, sodium pentachlorophenate,
tetrachloroethylene and carbon tetrachloride. The principal chemical
waste compounds from the manufacture of these chemicals were
hexachlorobenzene, hexachloroethene and hexachlorobutadiene.
Type of incident - Failure to remediate existing toxic waste and toxic waste dumping.
- Use of inadequate destruction technology for disposal of wastes.
Type of damage In 1976, when Rhodia bought Clorogil, a company that manufactured
chemicals used for wood treatment, they inherited one of the
greatest environmental liabilities ever in Brazil 51 . In 1984, it was
reported that the company had 11 illegal waste dumps that contained
organochlorine wastes discharged by the plant. Inside the plant,
which was part of the Pólo Industrial de Cubatão, in São Paulo, there
were also illegal deposits of industrial toxic waste 52 .
In January 1999, Greenpeace released the results of analyses of
51 Gazeta Mercantil, 24/2/00
52 Depoimento de João Carlos Gomes, diretor de Comunicação da ACPO
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