OCP Group

OCP Group, Morocco’s state-owned phosphate and fertilizer monopoly, presents itself as a green champion for the global energy transition. However, multiple investigations reveal a starkly different reality defined by severe environmental damage, systemic neglect for worker and community health, and a culture of secrecy and intimidation. As the world’s largest phosphate exporter expands to meet demand for fertilizers and electric vehicle batteries, the human and ecological costs in its operating regions are mounting. The company’s operations have sparked intense criticism from human rights organizations, local communities, and independent journalists who document a trail of pollution and unaddressed grievances.

Environmental Contamination: OCP’s operations cause extensive pollution, including the annual dumping of approximately 40 million tonnes of radioactive phosphogypsum waste into the Atlantic Ocean. Phosphate mining and processing also release fluoride and toxic gases, contaminating air and groundwater, which leads to dental and skeletal fluorosis in residents and livestock, turning teeth brown and causing severe health issues.

Severe Health Impacts: Workers and nearby communities suffer from elevated rates of respiratory diseases and cancers linked to exposure to pollutants and fine dust. Air quality measurements near OCP sites show concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5) that are  3 to 16 times higher  than World Health Organization safety guidelines, putting thousands at serious risk.

Dangerous Working Conditions: The company’s safety record is poor, with its own reports acknowledging ,245 industrial accidents over five years, resulting in 14 deaths and 245 serious injuries. Subcontracted workers, like one profiled cleaner, are exposed to toxic gases without adequate protection and offered derisory compensation for life-changing injuries.

Systematic Secrecy & Intimidation: OCP and state authorities actively suppress scrutiny. Critical  journalists face surveillance, hacking attempts, legal charges, and intimidation, including eviction threats. Researchers report that letters to the company go unanswered, health data is concealed, and interviews are cancelled due to community members’ fear of reprisals.

Community Neglect & Greenwashing: While OCP funds social projects, communities near mines describe increased poverty, degraded farmland, and depleted water sources. The company is accused of buying polluted land to avoid compensation rather than solving the underlying contamination, juxtaposing its sustainability rhetoric with ongoing harm.

Conclusion, OCP Group prioritizes profitable expansion and a green image over the well-being of the people and environments affected by its toxic operations. Its model is sustained by opacity and repression, obscuring the severe human rights abuses tied to the global supply chain for fertilizers and green technology.