FIREPOL has published a new entry in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas). The Global Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas) is an online, interactive database and map that documents social conflicts over environmental issues, such as mining, waste management, and infrastructure projects. Managed by researchers and activists, it catalogs cases of ecological injustices to support advocacy efforts and highlight the struggles of marginalized communities, featuring more than 4,500 documented cases worldwide. EJAtlas aims to make environmental conflicts more visible, legitimize activist claims, and facilitate networking among groups fighting for environmental justice.
The entry focuses on the ongoing environmental and public health crisis affecting the city of Arica, in northern Chile, linked to recurrent and uncontrolled fires at the municipal dump. According to official emergency records, at least 180 fire episodes were registered over the course of a single year. Many of these incidents are reportedly associated with irregular access to the site, where individuals burn waste and electrical cables to extract metals such as copper, aluminum, and iron. The landfill lacks the technical standards of an authorized sanitary facility and operates in practice as an open-air dump, with limited access control, inadequate infrastructure, and overstretched management capacity. Municipal workers have reported threats and physical aggression, as well as insufficient police protection, which complicates both prevention and response efforts. In some cases, firefighters have reportedly avoided attending incidents due to safety concerns.
Toxic smoke from these repeated fires has persistently affected nearby residential areas, including Cerro Chuño and Los Industriales: neighborhoods already marked by a history of exposure to industrial pollutants and poly-metal contamination. Residents have reported eye irritation, respiratory problems, and the worsening of chronic conditions, particularly among children, older adults, and individuals with pre-existing health issues. Although administrative proceedings and legal complaints have been initiated in response to illegal burnings, authorities have struggled to curb the recurrence of these events. At the same time, technical assessments indicating no sustained exceedances of fine particulate matter standards have generated tensions between official monitoring data and the lived experience of exposed communities. Overall, the situation at the Arica municipal dump illustrates a structural crisis in waste management, with significant implications for public health, safety, environmental justice, and urban quality of life, especially in territories historically affected by environmental contamination.
