That night the earth bank supporting the water basin collapsed and a wave of destruction swept across the surrounding landscape until...The river was crucial for daily life. Thousands of downstream local residents used it for bathing, fishing, washing and to water livestock and crops...In the days and weeks that followed the wastewater spill and the crude oil leak...dozens of local residents suffered physical injuries including burns, skin lesions, and pustules on the skin...Livestock were also affected and 15 individuals reported deaths of goats, cattle, pigs, and sheep... 

This briefing sets out how Glencore failed to properly address the leak at its wastewater basin, to adequately warn local residents about the wastewater spill before and after it occurred, to assess or alleviate the consequences, and to investigate the injuries that local residents reported in the days and weeks that followed the spill and the crude oil leak reported by local chief and residents. Instead, Glencore largely ignored the reports of injuries and the death of livestock, both of which should have sent alarm bells ringing...

After RAID and Chadian civil society groups raised concerns in August and October 2019, Glencore said it was “committed to trying to understand the root causes” of the injuries and would “conduct further research and investigation into a number of areas, using independent resources and further engagement with communities where required.” At the time of publication of this report, Glencore said it had “appointed an independent consultant to conduct an assessment on ground water, river water and soil samples upstream and downstream” of the Badila concession and is “in the process of commissioning an independent Health Impact Risk Assessment.”...

Following the field mission to Chad, RAID...wrote to Glencore raising human rights and environmental concerns relating to the wastewater spill. Glencore provided a detailed response which was...Glencore says that: “Of the complaints received relating to the water release, none related to injuries” and that it therefore “did not investigate any complaints of this nature.” The company said it did “receive a single verbal report but no formal complaint on 13 October 2018, which related to a young girl [sic] who appeared to have suffered blisters following bathing in the Nya River.”