Original article: Niñas desplazadas y casa inhabitable: Aguas San Isidro incumple fallo que ordenó descontaminar en 30 días

Displaced Girls and Uninhabitable Home: San Isidro Water Company Fails to Comply with Court Mandate to Decontaminate in 30 Days

In November 2025, the Court of Appeals in Temuco accepted a protective measure requested by the Childhood Defense Office on behalf of sisters J.I.C.B. and E.A.C.B., aged 1 and 14, respectively, after finding that San Isidro Sanitary Services violated their rights to life, physical integrity, and a pollution-free environment.

The court ruling, accessed by El Ciudadano, is unequivocal: it orders the company to hire an external specialized firm within 30 working days to perform comprehensive disinfection, decontamination, and sanitation of the Cubillos Blanco family’s home in Labranza, Temuco, ensuring “effective habitability conditions.” This deadline has passed, and according to the affected party, Víctor Cubillos, the company has not implemented the measures mandated by the appellate court.

“That deadline has already passed, and the company has done nothing. The house that was contaminated with the chemical remains uninhabitable, and we are still displaced, despite an active court ruling,” he declared in an interview with this outlet.

The plight dates back to November 21, 2024, when technicians from Aguas San Isidro, responding to persistent foul odors, directly and improperly applied a chemical compound—later identified in reports by the Superintendence of Sanitary Services (SISS) as 65% calcium hypochlorite—in the home’s sewage chamber. The safety sheet for this product warns of severe risks to respiratory systems, mucous membranes, and human skin.

The reaction was immediate. The family began to experience burning sensations in their eyes and throat, difficulty breathing, and skin lesions. They had to urgently leave their home, leaving all their belongings—clothes, furniture, memories—contaminated. “Everything is hot in our house… You feel like glass on your face,” recounted Doris Blanco, mother of the girls, as noted in a previous article published by this outlet in June.

Displaced Girls and Uninhabitable Home

According to the court records, in mid-2024 the Cubillos Blanco family experienced a strong gas odor in their kitchen and bathroom, prompting them to call the local Fire Department. They confirmed there was no gas leak and determined that the odors stemmed from the sink and basin, specifically from the sewage system. As a result, the infant J.I.C.B., then just months old, suffered repeated vomiting for five days.

Then, on July 14, 2024, both girls were taken to the emergency room. Tests on J.I.C.B. showed elevated carboxyhemoglobin (carbon monoxide) levels in her blood, while E.A.C.B., 14 years old, was diagnosed with acute respiratory infection.

This led the family to be forced out of their home for a month, during which the sanitary company installed a household connection chamber that, as it turned out, had no air vent and failed to solve the issue.

About four months later, on November 19 and 20, 2024, in response to continued foul odors, the family complained again. Consequently, staff from Aguas San Isidro arrived at the home and, in an attempt to mitigate the smells, applied chlorine (65% calcium hypochlorite) in large quantities in the front yard sewage chamber before sealing it. Moments later, the entire family began to experience itching and redness in their eyes, nose, and body, requiring them to vacate their home that same afternoon.

The toxic chemical contaminated all items in the home (clothes, food, utensils, etc.), rendering them unusable.

On November 25, 2024, the Fire Department confirmed that the ailments were due to chlorine exposure. The family went to the Labranza Health Center, where they were required to file a police report before being treated. However, at this hospital, despite inhaling chlorine, the infant J.I.C.B. was diagnosed as “without injuries,” while her mother, Doris Blanco, received a diagnosis of “minor injuries.”

Despite this, in the following days, the symptoms worsened. Doris had to be taken to various medical facilities, first to Imperial Hospital (November 26), where she was diagnosed with asthma; later, she went to ARTZ Medical Center (November 29), where a doctor certified her “symptoms consistent with chlorine poisoning.”

On December 1, the family returned to Imperial Hospital, where both girls were brought in for “chlorine poisoning”; E.A.C.B. was diagnosed with “allergic dermatitis,” and J.I.C.B. was again declared “healthy.”

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Meanwhile, her mother was admitted that same day to Clínica Alemana, where she was diagnosed with “adverse reaction to chlorine chemical compound.”

Finally, on December 6, 2024, the infant J.I.C.B., just one year old, was taken to Clínica Dávila, where she was diagnosed with “calcium hypochlorite inhalation poisoning” and displaying symptoms of “allergic rhinitis.”

For over a year, the house has remained contaminated, forcing the family to rent another property, resulting in the loss of their source of income (their pastry business).

Teenager E.A.C.B. had to transfer to a new school, and along with her sister, continues to receive medical treatment.

Moreover, the family, belonging to the indigenous mapuche community, suffered the loss of the placenta of the infant, which had been preserved in the home for ritual purposes, causing significant cultural and psychological harm.

Certified psychological damage has also been reported for E.A.C.B. and her father, due to the loss of their home and connections, both experiencing symptoms of depression and a sense of helplessness.

Institutional Abandonment: A Repeated Pattern

The Court’s ruling not only firmly addresses the water company but also criticizes the inaction of state agencies responsible for protection. The court orders the Seremi de Salud of La Araucanía and the SISS to act “in a coordinated, articulated, and complementary manner” to oversee compliance with the ruling and provide a “health authorization for habitability.”

However, according to Víctor Cubillos, that judicial mandate has also not been fulfilled. He alleges that the abandonment by these institutions predates the ruling and has persisted.

“The protective measure also targets state institutions, as the Seremi de Salud and the SISS have not engaged in this case,” asserted the Labranza resident.

“The only action taken by the SISS last year was to conduct an investigation exposing a worker inside the house, who also suffered from intoxication, but after that report, they did nothing more. No follow-up was provided,” he explained.

This was confirmed in the protective measure, which indicates that the Superintendence responded to a letter from the Childhood Defense Office and reported that inspectors observed “deficiencies in its sanitary infrastructure” on November 27, 2024. Aguas San Isidro admitted to using calcium hypochlorite at 65% in an “undetermined quantity,” emphasizing that this product is not indicated for sewage systems, attaching a safety sheet detailing its dangers (severe irritation, damage to mucous membranes, burns, chronic lung disease).

Furthermore, on December 9, 2024, SISS inspectors visited the property and noted the presence of chemical granules, experiencing throat, nose, and eye irritation within 15 minutes.

Regarding the actions of the Seremi de Salud, Cubillos stated, “They should have conducted follow-ups all year, including medical checks to ensure we were fine.”

According to the protective measure, the institution, despite being informed (even directly to its director, Andrés Cuyul) and receiving two letters from the Childhood Defense Office in April and May 2025, has not provided a response or taken actions to address this case.

Prosecutor’s Office Archives Case for «Lack of Evidence» Despite Multiple Proofs

In a turn that the family deems “absurd,” the Regional Prosecutor’s Office closed an investigative case in December, citing a lack of evidence. This is despite providing dozens of medical documents, photos, reports, calls, and evidence that the contaminating chemical remains physically present on the property.

“We sent the Prosecutor’s Office, without lying, about 50 or 60 documents, and the Prosecutor’s Office, now in December, closed the case for lack of evidence,” Cubillos accused.

“Something that is totally absurd, because we have evident proof, which is the chemical, that has been lying in the house for over a year. So it’s ridiculous for them to say there’s a lack of evidence; they should investigate it and determine what chemical it is, its quantity, and conduct all necessary tests. In fact, we learned it was closed because Doris went to the Prosecutor’s Office and presented the protective measure as evidence,” he pointed out.

Response from Aguas San Isidro: Ridiculous Offers and Insufficient Cleaning

Despite the serious impact on this family from Labranza, Aguas San Isidro has not provided them with a report or explanation regarding the causes or details of the chemical product used in their sewage chamber, which allegedly caused the poisoning they suffered.

In light of the judicial cleaning order, the company’s attitude, according to the victims’ narrative, has been one of evasion and disregard.

Concerning decontamination, Cubillos mentioned that a week and a half ago, an individual linked to a pest control company contacted them to coordinate a cleaning, but the proposed plan is far from the “comprehensive decontamination” required by the ruling.

“It really isn’t a deep clean; it’s more like a pest control operation where they intend to mow the lawn and spray chemicals for cockroaches,” he explained. “The company wants to do the cleaning, but they are not committed to removing the chemical currently present in our chamber. So as long as that chemical remains, no matter how much cleaning they do inside the house, it will obviously become toxic again,” he asserted.

Cubillos confirmed that they have not received any compensation from the company: “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a phone call,” he stated.

Furthermore, the company has refused to compensate them adequately. A few months back, through their attorney, they offered a compensation of $10 million, which, after legal fees, would amount to $8 million, insufficient to cover all damaged belongings.

Defense Office Prepares Actions for Non-compliance

As the deadline for compliance with the measures ordered by the Court of Appeals has expired, El Ciudadano asked Víctor Cubillos about the next legal actions to be taken.

“According to the explanation from the attorney at the Childhood Defense Office, they have to submit a document through the same court for non-compliance (…) From there, the Appeals Court will have to decide what actions to take against the company, whether to insist again, or what sanctions they may impose on the company for its failure to comply with the orders,” he indicated.

The Appeals Court ruling is clear in its foundations: the company’s actions were illegal and arbitrary for using an unapproved product and failing to repair the damage afterward, constituting a “complete lack of reasonableness” and a continuous violation of the children’s rights, who are subject to “enhanced protection.”

While Aguas San Isidro remains in defiance, the Cubillos Blanco family continues to face the crisis: displaced, with lost belongings, dealing with health aftermaths and a pervasive sense of abandonment.

“What we really hope for is that justice is served, and that those responsible are sought out,” Victor Cubillos stated.

“Here we can see the shortcomings of the State in general, because this type of abandonment towards citizens should not exist. We have reached out to many people, to those in public office. For example, the mayor is aware, as are congress members and the regional presidential delegate, and they have really turned a deaf ear. The same has happened with institutions like the Seremi de Salud and the SISS, so what is needed is truly qualified individuals who genuinely care about the community,” he asserted.

The legal case is ongoing, but the home of two girls in Labranza remains poisoned, and the clock of justice, for now, seems to have stopped for them.