Albras’ Board of Directors decided to restart aluminum production at the Albras aluminium plant in Brazil. Albras curtailed 50% of its production in April 2018.

The decision to restart Albras came after the decisions by the federal court in Belem, Brazil, to lift the production embargoes on Alunorte on May 15 and May 20, allowing Alunorte to ramp up towards normal production.

Read more in Hydro's press release: Albras resumes normal aluminium production

Hydro’s Alunorte employees demonstrate against the embargo.

Hydro announces upgrade of water treatment system at Alunorte for NOK 500 million. This increases the water treatment capacity by 50 percent and the water retainment basins capacity by 150 percent and improves the robustness of the plant to withstand future extreme weather conditions.

On 24 October 2018, Hydro announces further strengthening of Alunorte’s water treatment capacity. The water retainment basins capacity at Alunorte will be increased by 350 percent by end 2018.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: “Hydro to upgrade water treatment system at Alunorte”.

“The local communities have not received the information they deserve, and they have not found us trustworthy. For that, I apologize. We accept that to build trust, we will have to make changes in our own attitudes, in our actions, and in our ways of working with the local communities.”

— Hydro CEO and President Svein Richard Brandtzæg

Hydro takes measures to preserve jobs at Paragominas and Alunorte, and 1,000 employees are on collective vacations from end of March/early April. 600 employees working at Alunorte will be on 10-days collective vacation, while 400 employees at Paragominas will be on 15-day collective vacations.

Hydro does not consider layoffs at the moment. “The company is using all possible legal and labor instruments to preserve all jobs,” says Douglas Ruozzi, Director of Human Resources.

Read more in Hydro’s press releases: “Hydro takes measures to preserve jobs in Paragominas” and “Hydro takes measures to preserve jobs at Alunorte”.

Relevant authorities including IBAMA, the federal environmental agency, reconfirm in a congressional hearing in Brasilia the integrity of Alunorte’s bauxite residue deposits and that there has been no spill or overflow from these.

Hydro’s Alunorte employees demonstrate against the embargo.

Hydro commissions Brazilian environmental consultancy SGW Services to conduct an independent environmental review of Alunorte. SGW Services is an internationally renowned environmental consultancy and one of the leading environmental consultancies in Brazil.

SGW Services present their findings on 9 April.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: ‘Hydro commissions SGW to conduct independent environmental review of Alunorte’.

Hydro continues to collaborate with local institutions on humanitarian relief to assist communities in Barcarena within health and water. For neighboring communities Vila Nova, Burajuba and Bom Futuro, Hydro commits to working with local partners and investing in proper water supply. The water is being distributed by the Civil Defense and local contractors, and the process is observed by Peabiru Institute.

Hydro further commits to work with community, civil society and government to clarify the sources of water pollution and other water-related issues in the Barcarena region.

Red Cross is also contracted to conduct door-to-door visits for health attendance and blood sampling. The aim is to establish a baseline of the health effects and level of exposure to contaminated water, based on clinical and laboratory examinations and toxicological tests. The Red Cross’ final report is also to point to other needs and desired actions for health measures in the communities.

By end-November 2018, the results have not shown clinical symptoms of metal poisoning, but rather signs and symptoms that can be related to living conditions.

Hydro’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Eivind Kallevik is appointed interim head of Bauxite & Alumina with immediate effect, replacing Silvio Porto. Kallevik also remains in his position as CFO.

Hydro commits to review and consider further strengthening Alunorte’s water treatment system. The project is to be led by Silvio Porto, reporting to Kallevik.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: ‘Hydro takes new initiatives to resolve Alunorte situation’.

To see the situation in Barcarena for himself and to meet local management, Hydro’s President and CEO travel to Belém and Barcarena. He also visits local communities around Alunorte, including Bom Futuro, one of the communities where Hydro and the local municipality offer free health care consultations for the population and free drinking water.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: Brandtzæg visits Alunorte and surrounding communities.

“Hydro is gravely concerned about the situation and for the population in this area, and we will continue to provide Hydro’s support to improving the situation, both in the short term and in the longer term.”
— Hydro CEO and president Svein Richard Brandtzæg, Hydro press release, February 24

Following the rainfall, Alunorte collaborates with local institutions to provide emergency humanitarian relief to the communities of Burajuba, Bom Futuro and Vila Nova in Barcarena.

From 2 March, health services are provided in collaboration with the Municipality of Barcarena. This includes diagnosis, treatment and door to door mapping, as well as water and soil sampling, by the national Red Cross. In addition, Alunorte provided doctors/specialists for the state-run hospital.

Alunorte continues to provide drinking water to the nearby communities affected by the flooding in cooperation with the Civil Defense.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: Hydro addresses local community needs.

Hydro forms an internal expert task force to ensure all the facts and circumstances related to the rainfall on February 16-17 are known.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: ‘Hydro forms expert task force to review Barcarena situation’.

The task force presented its findings on April 9

"Our commitment to safe and sound operations is universal and absolute. We intend to evaluate all aspects of our operations in Alunorte in an open and transparent manner, in close dialogue with relevant authorities."
— Hydro CEO and president Svein Richard Brandtzæg, Hydro press release February 24

The task force is to do the following:

• Establish the effects of the rainfall on the operational integrity of the bauxite residue deposits, including the ability to treat and dispose of excess water
• Analyze and evaluate internal and external data and information related to possible environmental impact in the local communities
• Propose improvement of systems, processes and/or organization supporting short and longer-term operational perspective

To help local communities affected by the flooding, Hydro cooperates with the municipal and state public agencies in the distribution of drinking water to the communities of Vila Nova, Burajuba and Bom Futuro.Hydro is also working with the same communities to find solutions for permanent access to drinking water.

Dialog meetings with community leaders are initiated and held on a weekly basis.

Read more in Hydro’s press release:‘Hydro Alunorte operations continue despite heavy rainfall, supports communities’.

On February 22, the Brazilian environmental research body IEC, the Evandro Chagas Institute, publishes a report, stating that Hydro had polluted the drinking water of local communities nearby the plant. IEC also published reports on February 24 and March 28, stating that there had been overflows of bauxite residue and heavy metals were found in the local drinking water.

The later review of Alunorte and the impact of the rainfall by the Brazilian environmental consultancy SGW Services on 9 April questions IEC’s sampling methodology and analytical methodology, and consider the results published in the IEC reports as not consistent.

The heavy metals that IEC have recorded, the results that they present and the figures in their reports are all below the relevant resolution limits. The values in the Evandro Chagas Institute’s report are also below the relevant limits of the international drinking guidelines from the World Health Organization.

Read more in Hydro’s press release: ‘No disturbances in bauxite residue deposits after heavy rainfall in Barcarena’.

During an inspection of Alunorte, the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainability in the Brazilian state of Pará (SEMAS) finds a disused construction pipe in a corner of the refinery area with a crack in its concrete cover, allowing rain water to seep through to the other side of the fence.

After the pipe is sealed and secured, Alunorte commissions environment consultancy Enviro-Tec to analyze the water and soil outside the refinery area. Enviro-Tec concludes that the rain waterthat had leaked through the construction pipe had not caused any negative impact to the soil.

See video about the disused construction pipe:

More than 200 mm of rainfall is recorded in Barcarena in a 12-hour period, of which 150 millimeters comes in just two to three hours.

As an emergency measure during the heavy rainfall, Alunorte discharges partly untreated rainwater into the Pará river through a water canal called Canal Velho on February 17 and periodically between February 20-25.

On March 13, the Ministério Público, which has a role as public prosecutor and ombudsman, requested the inlet to this canal to be sealed with concrete. This was immediately carried out by Alunorte.

Alunorte alumina refinery

• World’s largest alumina refinery outside China
• 92,1% owned by Hydro
• Annual production capacity of 6.3 million tonnes alumina
• More than 2 000 employees
• Alumina, a white powder refined from bauxite, is a raw material required to produce aluminum
• Receives bauxite from the Paragominas mine (owned 100% by Hydro) and provides alumina worldwide, including to the nearby Albras primary aluminum plant (owned 51% by Hydro).

Days before the flooding, residents and media in Barcarena raise concerns about Alunorte’s bauxite residue deposits, including rumors in social media that there had been ruptures in the deposits.

At the time of the heavy rainfall days later, many parts of the flood waters looked red as it took on the color of the local iron-rich soil. As the bauxite residue are also red in color, some people thought that the floodwater was contaminated with bauxite residue. This may have fueled local rumors about whether the flooding had affected the bauxite residue deposits.

See more about the operations of Alunorte’s bauxite solid residue deposit in the videos below: