Environmental disaster in Brazil: 157 deaths identified in Brumandinho, health crisis and new evacuations against risks in two Vale mines

In Brumadinho, the collapse of the dam has released about 12 million cubic meters of reddish-brown mud, which threatens to contaminate 48 municipalities and could affect up to 1.3 million inhabitants. Contaminated drinking water, diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, transmission of schistosomiasis (caused by worms) and other diseases are the main concerns of the country's authorities because they will affect millions of people in about 500 municipalities of Minas Gerais and the region "will enter a state of health and environmental disaster" in the short term.

Fiocruz, Brazil's main research institute, warned this week against a possible health crisis after the collapse of an iron ore dam in the state of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, in Brazil, which has already killed 157, 165 people are missing, 16 days after the tragic Friday, 25 January.

The institute said that contamination of the ecosystem and the nearby Paraopeba River could accelerate the spread of dengue fever, yellow fever or diarrhea in communities near Brumandinho, the city where the dam has collapsed.

The badysis of contaminated mud and river water is ongoing, but environmental experts have stated that toxic concentrations of iron oxide and other heavy metals have been detected.

In the long run, the report of professionals established that the isolation of rural communities, stress and trauma caused by the loss of a family member, work or even a radical change in the quality of life will also have a significant impact on health. of people.

The researchers noted that the number of cases of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and even cancer was higher in the months and years following an accident of this type.

Fiocruz, linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, largely based its badessments on studies conducted after a similar disaster in November 2015 in the same state as Minas Gerais. The collapse of a large dam caused the deaths of 19 people and left 250,000 people without drinking water.

It was considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazil, but experts said the collapse of the Brumadinho dam "could overcome it." This (Brumadinho) is the biggest disaster of a mining dam in Brazil and one of the worst in the world, "he said. Mariano Andrade da Silva, researcher at the National School of Public Health, badociated with Fiocruz.

In Brumadinho, the collapse of the dam has released about 12 million cubic meters of reddish-brown mud, which threatens to contaminate 48 municipalities and could affect up to 1.3 million inhabitants.

The authorities are still looking for 165 missing persons who have not found anyone alive since 26 January.

About 3,000 people live in rural areas, many of which are isolated from the center of Brumadinho because roads are still blocked by mud.

Fiocruz experts said previous experiences indicate that isolated communities are particularly vulnerable to the spread of disease and deterioration of health status.

Paraopeba River monitoring: "it is contaminated"

The SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation confirmed that Rio Paraopeba died in Pará de Minas, 40 km from the collapse of Vale dam in Corrego do Feijão. "The level of oxygen is insufficient for aquatic life and human consumption," they revealed.

The Fiocruz Institute also monitors the movement of mud down the Paraopeba towards the mighty Sao Francisco River. Experts said they still did not know whether two hydroelectric plants in Paraoepeba would block waste and prevent pollution in the Sao Francisco River.

De Fiocruz said that millions of people in more than 500 municipalities depend on the water of this river for their personal use or for irrigation.

At first, it was predicted that low-speed slurry would reach the first dam on February 5-10.

Preventive evacuation and alert

The Brazilian authorities decided yesterday to proceed to new evacuations in the areas of the two dams of the mining company Vale, in Minas Gerais. The first of these operations took place in the city of Barao de Cocais, a hundred kilometers from the regional capital, Belo Horizonte, and nearly 500 people from different neighborhoods were expelled from their homes.

The evacuation was determined by the National Mine Agency (ANM), after a consultant refused the safety certificate of the "Sur Superior" dam, in the Gongo Soco mine, belonging to the Vale mining company, to which the company also belonged. Dam that erupted on January 25 near Brumadinho.

However, the company pointed out that the decision was preventive and that it resulted from the inspections it was conducting in dams in the region, after the disaster that occurred two weeks ago.

The "Superior Sur" dam, built from the mining waste themselves and surrounding land – the same method used to build the Brumadinho Dam, also in the state of Minas Gerais – is among the ten that Vale has the intention to eliminate. .

On the other hand, about fifty families from the Itatiaiuçu municipality, located about 80 kilometers from Belo Horizonte, were also evacuated from their home early in the morning and transferred to a hotel in the interior. of the state.

The reason was the risk of collapse of another dam located near this location and belonging to the steel producer ArcelorMittal. According to firefighters in Minas Gerais, the situation is under control.

At the same time, Brazilian authorities continue rescue operations in Brumadinho, but with "minimal" hope of finding survivors. It is even possible that missing persons were never found in the sea of ​​mud that rushed from the dam.

For its part, the company has always ratified, through its accounts, the official social networks and communications of the company that will badume the resulting responsibilities. "Vale emphasizes again and again that it will continue to contribute to all investigations for recounting the facts and that it is at the center of its directive, as well as unconditional support for affected families." #Brumadinho "

Source: Agencia EFE, Red O Globo (G1), SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation.

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