On the world day for the environment, Brazil struggles with mining issues

 A threat to our flora, fauna, waters, and society as a whole

In November of 2015, the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil, made headlines all over the world due to a tragedy that became known as the worst environmental disaster of the country. It happened in the city of Mariana, when the dam of an iron ore mine collapsed, releasing 43.7 million cubic meters of mine tailings into the Rio Doce, causing a toxic brown mudflow that reached the River and beaches near the mouth, when it reached the Atlantic Ocean 17 days later. The disaster created a humanitarian crisis as hundreds were displaced and cities along the Doce River suffered water shortages when their water supplies were polluted. The extent of the damage caused by the failure is the largest ever recorded with pollutants spread along 668 kilometers  of watercourses.

Mariana is located in an area that has its economy mostly based on mining. Samarco – a joint venture between Brazil’s Vale and Anglo-Australian company BHP Billiton – is one of the region’s biggest employers. The dam that collapsed belonged to the referred company, which has recently in March of 2022 been authorized by the governor of Minas Gerais to amplify its activities at the “Complexo Minerário Germano”, where the accident took place.

If what happened in Mariana had been taken seriously by the authorities in Brazil, we might had been able to avoid another major disaster involving the mining industry in the country. While the public opinion was lead to believe such catastrophe was inaceptable, and would never think something like that could happen again, we all watched, terrified, to a similar horror real life movie: just a bit more than 3 years later, in January of 2019, another tailing dam broke in the state of Minas Gerais. This time, in the city of Brumadinho, located 55 kilometers away from the capital Belo Horizonte. 

It was lunch time when the dam of Córrego do Feijão Mine collapsed, spilling 12.7 million cubic meters of iron ore tailings. The burst formed a tsunami of mud that went down hill at about 100km per hour, destroying everything ahead, causing what became Brazil’s largest humanitarian tragedy – a labor related disaster that caused the death of 251 workers (many of them were eating at the cafeteria which was placed right under the dam). The breaking of the dam also killed 2 unborn children and 19 community members, among residents and tourists, summing up to the loss of 272 human lives.The mud ended up reaching the main water source of the region, the Paraopeba River, which is now contaminated with heavy metals. This mine also belonged to Vale. Until today, no one has been made responsible for the incident.

According to Claudio Ferreira dos Santos, executive secretary of the National Federation of Occupational Safety Technicians (Fenatest), the dams pose an enormous risk, not only for the workers who carry out their activities there, but also for the surroundings, since a breakup has terrible effects. “We are facing a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. The consequences of a disruption for the environment and people are catastrophic. Prevention and the culture of prevention are very important”, he concludes.

If on one hand, the way the government deals with the mining industry in Brazil is full of shady nuances, on the other hand there’s been some relevant movimentation by other sectors of society, institutions and legal forces in search for justice and memory. This is the case of the “Brumadinho Legacy” – a project in memory of the the worst humanitarian tragedy of Brazil, in an attempt to establish a new mindset in society concerning the importance of safety at work policies, so tragedies like Mariana and Brumadinho never happen again. Their motto is: “Today you can save lives, tomorrow, it might be too late”. 

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Project carried out with resources allocated by the Management Committee for Collective Moral Damage paid to title of social indemnity for the rupture of the dam in Brumadinho, on 01/25/2019, that claimed 272 lives.

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#brumadinho, #brumadinholegacy, #environment, #mining, #worlddayfortheenvironment