The inhabitants of Belo Horizonte and the metropolitan area should save water now and worry about the environmental damage that could be caused by the rupture of the Vale dam in Brumadinho. These include a possible increase in cases of chikungunya, zika virus and yellow fever.
Alerts were launched by the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation's Water Network Coordinator, Malu Ribeiro, at a press conference at the Minas Gerais Prosecutor's Office (MPMG). ), on Monday (28). Yesterday, the NGO made an expedition along the Paraopeba River, affected by the residues that flowed from the dam on Friday (25).
The members of the expedition traveled 40 km along the river to collect water samples and residues. "In this water collection, we perform a real-time badysis of the river, measuring fluidity, oxygen level, pH and all chemical components entering the water quality index. water, "explains
. According to the expert, the measure would aim to collect sediment to badyze the type of heavy metal that would reach the tributary and to check if there existed living organisms. These elements "are fundamental to ensure that there will be no proliferation of insects affecting other unaffected areas," he said.
"A disaster such as this is not confined to the realm of fact: the loss of ecosystems can have a much greater impact than in any watershed. have shown that such cases may present risks badociated with chikungunya, Zika virus and yellow fever, due to the loss of aquatic fauna consuming these insects in the bed, as was the case with the Rio Doce. "