[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

“The workshop was flooded with alkali”: The situation at the plant in Pavlodar was caught on video, 16 March 2021

A pulp spill occurred in one of the workshops of the Pavlodar aluminum plant. The company called the incident a technological failure and claimed that the solution that flooded part of the production premises was not dangerous for factory workers...

A video from the scene of the incident appeared on Instagram. The video footage shows one of the workers in overalls and rubber boots walking through a workshop flooded with dark liquid...

The industrial enterprise confirmed that the video shows one of the sections of the hydrometallurgical workshop of the plant where a technological failure occurred.

“A technological failure occurred that did not pose danger to the city or the employees of the enterprise...Due to increased humidity, bauxite became stuck in the bunkers, and came off during hydrocollapse...The consequences of overflowing raw pulp, that is, bauxite with an alkaline circulating solution, are being eliminated. Special equipment operates around the clock," commented the press service of Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC.

The company assured that all safety measures are observed at the plant...