Umweltverbrechen multinationaler Konzerne - Greenpeace

Shell Brazil S.A. (Vila Carioca, Sao Pãolo)
Company details Royal Dutch Shell Group
Carel Van Bylandtlaan 30
The Hague, 2596 – Netherlands
Shell Brasil S.A. -
Central Office:
Avenida das Nações Unidas, 17.891
3º andar
04795-100 São Paulo – SP
Tel: +55-11-5514-8600
Fax: +55-11-5514-8700
Facility in Vila Carioca:
Av. Presidente Wilson
Vila Carioca
São Paulo – SP
Paulínia Facility
Avenida Roberto Simonsen, 1.500
Paulínia – 13140-000
Tel: +55-19-874-7200
Revenue in 1998 – USD 35 million 137 .
Company activity The facility involved in this case stored fuels and pesticides.
Type of incident Groundwater and soil contamination.
Type of damage Shell owns a facility for storing fuel and pesticides in a 180 thousand
square meters area in Vila Carioca, in the city of São Paulo. Since it
was inaugurated, there have been several reports of leakages from
the facility, which potentially affected the environment and the health
of the local community.
Range of damage,
amount of loss
Legal and/or public
action taken
137 Guia da Indústria Química Brasileira – Abiquim – 1999/2000
138 Folha de S. Paulo, 20/4/2002
In March 2002, CETESB (Brazilian state environmental agency)
confirmed that the groundwater of the region was contaminated by
benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, lead and other heavy
metals and the organochlorines aldrin, dieldrin and isodrin. In the
area where fuels were stored, the Institute for Technological
Research detected concentrations of lead as high as 220 miligrams
per kilogram of soil.
In March 2002, the Public Prosecutor started a public legal case, in
which the defendants are Shell and CETESB. A report written by
engineer Élio Lopes dos Santos, expert from the Public Prosecutor’s
Office in São Paulo, estimates that 30 thousand people who live
within 1 kilometre could have been affected or may be affected in the
future by the pollution generated there 138 .
Sinpetrol (Union of Minerals and Oil Derivatives Trade Workers) and
Greenpeace filed a complaint against the pollution generated by
Shell in the area.
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