-By LeN Special Investigative Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -15.July.2025, 11.20 PM) The Kelani River snakes through the industrial heartlands of Sri Lanka’s Western Province, providing drinking water to millions and sustaining the livelihoods of entire communities. For years, villagers living along the riverbanks in Biyagama had whispered about an invisible poison trickling into their lives. The source, they believed, was the sprawling brewery complex run by Lion Brewery PLC, one of Sri Lanka’s most profitable and politically influential companies.
For more than a decade, villagers’ suspicions were brushed aside as mere rumour. Government authorities, heavily reliant on corporate tax revenue, appeared reluctant to probe too deeply. And the brewery itself—owned by a conglomerate with powerful international ties—insisted it was committed to environmental sustainability.
But a months-long investigation led by this newspaper, involving the review of hundreds of leaked emails, internal testing data, environmental reports, and whistleblower accounts, now reveals a troubling truth: Lion Brewery knew its operations were contaminating the Kelani River with hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, and chose to conceal it.
In February 2012, environmental analysts raised alarm bells. A report issued by a group of independent chemists, later validated by university researchers, found dangerously high levels of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in Kelani River water samples collected near Biyagama.
Chromium-6, as it is more commonly known, is the same toxic compound made infamous by the Erin Brockovich case in the United States. Inhaled or ingested over time, it can cause severe damage to liver, kidneys, respiratory system, and skin, and has been proven to cause cancer in humans. The World Health Organisation lists Cr(VI) as a Group 1 carcinogen.
At the time, Lion Brewery categorically denied any wrongdoing. A corporate statement dismissed the findings as “scientifically inconclusive” and accused the environmental analysts of “agenda-driven sensationalism.” Company representatives pointed to their compliance with Board of Investment regulations and insisted their effluent treatment systems were operating “within safe parameters.”
But buried within the company’s own records is evidence that paints a starkly different picture.
Documents leaked by a former environmental engineer who worked at the Biyagama facility between 2011 and 2017 reveal that the brewery’s in-house laboratory repeatedly detected chromium-6 in effluent samples, some exceeding 10 times the legally permitted levels set by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA).
In one internal email dated 12 February 2012, just two days before another well known Newspaper published its expose on Kelani River contamination, the company’s Environmental Compliance Manager reported to senior executives that “Cr(VI) levels in final discharge tanks have spiked again—latest test (9 Feb) reads 0.26 mg/L, well above the limit of 0.05 mg/L.”
The response from senior management was not concern—but calculation. A reply from a Director of Operations read: “Ensure all formal samples sent to CEA show compliant results. Delay external audits if necessary.”
This was not an isolated exchange. Over the course of nearly ten years, internal testing records reveal dozens of similar spikes, often during high-production cycles or when the brewery ramped up export shipments.
In many cases, employees were instructed to dilute or delay effluent discharge before official testing. Several whistleblowers allege that the company’s “compliance team” routinely manipulated effluent samples—“a known but unspoken practice,” as one former lab technician put it.
Attempts by local residents to raise the issue with authorities met bureaucratic inertia. In 2016, the Biyagama Community Welfare Forum submitted a petition with over 1,000 signatures to the Central Environmental Authority requesting an independent investigation into the brewery’s waste disposal. The petition was never acknowledged.
When asked why no action was taken, a former senior official at the CEA, speaking under condition of anonymity, admitted: “There’s political pressure. Lion Brewery is a major revenue generator. We were discouraged from going after them.”
The official also revealed that, between 2013 and 2018, at least three compliance reports flagged potential “toxic heavy metal discharge” from the brewery. None were made public.
“It became routine to file them away,” said the source. “We were told it was not in the national interest to create unnecessary panic.”
For the villagers of Biyagama, the impact has been far from invisible.
A community health survey conducted by medical volunteers from the University of Kelaniya in 2018 found that incidence of unexplained skin lesions, respiratory disorders, and chronic kidney disease was 40% higher among families drawing water from wells and streams within a 3-kilometre radius of the brewery.
In a small riverside hamlet called Kudamaduwa, nearly eight out of 15 households interviewed for this article had at least one family member suffering from long-term kidney dysfunction or recurrent skin ulcerations.
“We had no idea what was causing this,” said 59-year-old Gunasekera Bandara, whose two sons have been diagnosed with chronic nephropathy. “Doctors said it could be from heavy metals in the water. We boil it every day, but still people are falling sick.”
In some cases, families have stopped using well water altogether, resorting to expensive bottled water or travelling long distances to fetch clean supplies.
In response to queries, Lion Brewery’s corporate spokesperson issued a brief statement:
“Our operations are compliant with national environmental standards and independently audited. We reject any insinuation of cover-up or wrongdoing. Our commitment to sustainability and community well-being remains absolute.”
The statement makes no reference to the leaked internal data.
However, in private investor briefings from as early as 2016—obtained as part of this investigation—company executives discussed “the growing public scrutiny around Kelani River discharge” and the “PR risk posed by activist reporting.”
One investor note warned that “chromium contamination, if confirmed externally, could trigger class action suits and damage export licensing agreements, especially in the EU.”
The company reportedly explored contingency plans, including relocating parts of its wastewater treatment process and lobbying for regulatory “relaxations” under a special BOI provision.
Environmental law experts say the revelations could have significant legal implications.
“If a company knowingly discharges toxic substances into public waterways and conceals evidence, that constitutes both criminal negligence and a civil liability,” said Prof. Wijeratne, an environmental law scholar based in Colombo. “Hexavalent chromium is not something you can dismiss lightly.”
Asked whether affected communities could pursue legal redress, Wijeratne noted that Sri Lankan jurisprudence in environmental torts is still “underdeveloped,” but growing. “What we need is a class-action mechanism or public interest litigation brought forward by citizen groups. The evidence appears compelling.”
In other jurisdictions, such as India and the United States, similar violations have resulted in multi-million-dollar settlements, criminal charges, and government sanctions.
The Lion Brewery case may not be an isolated event. Biyagama and Kelani are part of Sri Lanka’s fast-industrialising export corridor, home to dozens of factories, including chemical plants, tanneries, food processing units, and garment manufacturers. Activists argue that the lack of transparency, weak enforcement, and corporate impunity are systemic.
“What this story shows is not just corporate malpractice but regulatory failure,” said Chathurika Senanayake, a former CEA field officer turned environmental activist. “Our rivers are treated as dumping grounds because the companies that pollute them are also the ones funding election campaigns.”
Senanayake believes the Lion Brewery revelations should serve as a wake-up call. “If one of the biggest companies can get away with this for a decade, imagine what else is happening in the shadows.”
Back in Biyagama, trust in institutions has all but eroded.
“This is not just about one factory,” says Anoma Dilrukshi, a teacher who lost her husband to kidney failure at age 46. “It’s about how little our lives matter. We asked for clean water. Instead, they gave us lies.”
The new government has promised to “reform environmental oversight” and strengthen public accountability. Whether this translates into action remains to be seen.
For now, the Kelani River keeps flowing—tainted, perhaps, but still carrying with it the hopes and struggles of the people who live by its banks.
-By LeN Special Investigative Correspondent
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by (2025-07-15 17:53:03)
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