Claims for compensation of more than 260 thousand euros begins to be decided in the Central Civil Court of Beja. Resident in Fortes put company “generator” of pollution in court.
Begins this Wednesday to be settled in the Civil Court of Beja the action opposes Rosa Dimas, of 58 year old, resident at the Fortes site, Ferreira do Alentejo county, where women demand AZPO-Azeites de Portugal, company linked to the Migasa Group, the second largest olive oil packer in the world, the payment of more than 260 thousand euros, for damages of patrimonial and non-patrimonial nature.
AZPO has been operating an industrial unit for the use of olive pomace for a decade, that through physical and chemical processes, extracts fat for the production of biofuels and biomass, vegetable oil or cosmetic products. And it’s concentrated fumes and ash particles, soot and residues, expelled by the chimneys that have deserved the population's challenge environmental associations and political parties.
In the civil lawsuit the plaintiff, resident there 10 years in place of Fortes, accuses AZPO of being the cause of its health problems that arose in the middle of 2017, when he started to suffer from respiratory problems. In view of the various problems he has been suffering for several periods of time, the woman claims that she had to leave housing in Fortes and go live with a son, not Luxembourg, where she was subjected to exams.
For property damage ranging from health expenses, loss of income and other, Rosa Dimas demands that AZPO be ordered to pay the amount of 161.370,70 euros, while for non-property damage, related by affecting their physical and mental health, asks for more the amount of 100.000 euros.
in its defense, the defendant considers that requests for conviction for property and non-property damage should be “necessarily considered unfounded”, bearing in mind that “the necessary causal link between the event giving rise to the liability indicated by the plaintiff and the occurrence of the damage is not fulfilled”, appointed by the petitioner.
AZPO maintains that “the alleged damage, to exist, they certainly had other causes to which they are totally alien ”, adding that the plaintiff "could never be entitled to compensation for the damage she alleges", justifies the company linked to the Spanish Migasa Group.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
