Historic Class Action Lawsuit for Environmental Damage Filed Against Copec and Three Companies in Chile

The legal action has been endorsed by over 1,000 affected individuals. "This lawsuit is not symbolic: it sets a historic precedent. It is the first time a whole community has organized, researched, documented, and held such large companies accountable for a century of environmental damage and its impact on human health," the plaintiffs stated in a release.

The Citizen

04/12/2025 9:51pm

Original article: Presentan la demanda colectiva por daño ambiental más grande en la historia de Chile contra Copec y otras 3 compañías

A historic class action lawsuit, backed by over 1,000 affected individuals, has been filed in Viña del Mar against Copec, Shell, Esso, and Sonacol for «over 110 years of petrochemical contamination in the Las Salinas area,» stated the plaintiffs in a press release.

«This legal action aims to establish the companies’ responsibility for one of the country’s most severe and prolonged environmental liabilities, where thousands of people and their families have been exposed to mixtures of toxic chemicals for multiple generations—including carcinogenic and neurotoxic compounds—that have never been effectively remediated or controlled, putting public health at risk,» the statement, endorsed by the Un Parque para Las Salinas movement, asserts.

The local residents further highlighted that Copec has attempted for years to advance a real estate project on contaminated land, despite reiterated irregularities, critical omissions in the health assessment, and operations conducted without minimal safeguards to protect the population.

«This lawsuit is not symbolic: it sets a historic precedent. It is the first time a whole community has organized, researched, documented, and held such large companies accountable for a century of environmental damage and its impact on human health,» added the statement from the Viña del Mar community.