Historic cities risk breaking their dam



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Da Rede Brasil Atual – The state of Minas Gerais concentrates 90% of the existing niobium in Brazil. In the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, a region located in the center-south of the state affected by the collapse of the Mariana and Brumadinho dams, constitutes the largest national production, accounting for about 60% of the country's iron ore.

concludes fear and despair. According to the coordinator of the Movement of People affected by dams (MAB), Pablo Andrade Dias, Binho, the region has more than 700 waste dams: 250 at risk and 50 at risk. These data, he says, were collected by the public prosecutor and IBAMA in 2014. "There are now more risks and a lot of them in metropolitan areas".

An estimated 12 million cubic meters of residues are erased by the dam at the Córrego do Feijão mine in Brumadinho. The discharge reached the Paraopeba River. And the risk of reaching the San Francisco, which he is rich, is imminent. The mud can reach 19 municipalities, compromising the water supply of about 1 million people

Dead by the dam of the valley reach 60 and disappeared, to 292
The Quadrilátero Ferrífero has about 7 1,000 square kilometers covering cities such as Casa Branca, Itaúna, Itabira, Nova Lima and Santa Bárbara, besides the historic towns of Sabara, Congonhas do Campo, Mariana and Ouro Preto, sites of historical and cultural heritage of humanity, registered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Culture (Unesco)

"Congonhas has a dam of the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) much larger than those who broke here in Brumadinho," says Binho. "MAB staff said the residents spent the last three sleepless nights walking the streets, worried about the

Binho said" that was not enough, "the company urged the dam to rise, without take into account the risk of life of the population. "This is a region that is part of the Paraopebas Basin, which is responsible for the water supply of much of the metropolitan area. Belo Horizonte. "

people are already worried about the Brumadinho Bar, but if Congonhas broke, it would be a red alert for access to water in the region," warns the MAB coordinator .

Permanent Hazard
Mariana and Brumadinho Dams

"This dam was not on the risk map, it was stable and closed since 2015 and did not appear to have any cracks or other features problems, "says Maíra do Publico. Nascimento, a member of the White House Water and Mountain Movement, says that not being on the risk map may not mean much. "Such tailings dams are stable under normal weather conditions, but are not necessarily so for other problems, such as earthquakes, torrential rains that may occur in these areas."

This movement has existed since 2011. But since 2006 the local community warned the authorities against the dangers of mining. "Our region has many small earthquakes that we sometimes do not feel, but that can shake this type of structure.And the mining activity itself, with the explosions intended to facilitate the extraction of ore. , may shake these structures from within

Maira worries about the hundreds of communities settled near the dams. "If those who are theoretically stable and not risky have burst, this will inform them of the fact. others who are already in danger, many of them, like the Bean Stream in Brumadinho, which places whole communities downstream (under the dam). (even when the community is above the dam) are likely to suffer environmental damage, which is initially less important, but which subsequently causes economic, health and environmental damage. "

The activist remembers that shortly after the tragedy of Mariana, due to the loss of diversity, mainly amphibians that eat a lot of insects, there had been an epidemic of yellow fever. "Now, with this second environmental crime, there will always be health problems, in addition to material loss, people, biodiversity. We have already lost a lot of animals, fish, the river is doomed, we will lose hydroelectric power stations, a tragedy of incalculable dimensions. "

Binho insists that the mining population surrounding these dams is in constant danger." And public authorities or precautionary miners are taking no action to make dams more risky. "

Mining in hostage
Maíra and Binho consider that the logic of profit is at the root of the crimes the environmental conditions and the risks to which the inhabitants of the region are exposed.

"Mining is widespread there and it is not not only the population that is held hostage of the risks it engenders and all the health problems, contamination, human rights, very serious precarious work in the mining companies. Historically, the state of Minas Gerais is being held hostage, "said the MAB coordinator." And we are not talking about one government or another, "he said, describing the mining lobby. and the Economic Power of the Legislative and Executive Power as Gigantic

The MPT attributes Brumadinho's tragedy to the most serious violation of the standards of history
Maira lives this daily. as a volunteer by participating in meetings, forums, committees and councils, badisting in the study of licensing processes, making representations to the prosecution and other relevant bodies to show inconsistencies in the processes of Granting of mining licenses.

"This was not necessary. or dams, "she says." The technologies used here are inefficient and inexpensive, which is not used in countries of the industrialized world where everything is done dry and does not exist, but here they do not use it, they do what is cheaper. "

Binho says that after the breakup of the Mariana Dam, several bills were introduced, all stuck at the same time. initiative of Vale or other mining companies who collaborated with the large transnational group in the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais. "The policy on dam rights affected by dams, which has not was approved, lasted three years. "The Dam Safety Act is even the result of the Special Commission after the Samarco Dam broke up and was not approved." [19659002] The Movement of Affected Persons by the dams continues to worry about not repeating what happened to Mariana. "We are acting urgently now, but we are already thinking about what it will be like for a month, two months, in building processes that guarantee the rights of families," Binho said.

According to him, Justice, 12ª Vara, who tried and followed the trial of Mariana, is responsible for the crime of Brumadinho. "Today, the judge of this court is acting much more like an arm of the val in the judiciary than a judge who guarantees the rights of the people, which creates a situation of impunity that leaves the miners very comfortable to continue committing crimes. "

The crime of Samarco ends three years and until now, there is no repair
Maíra says that the competent authorities should conduct a rapid badysis of the dams and put everything out of service . "

Brazil, hostage to privatization
For the coordinator of MAB, the Brazilian Ministry of Energy and Mines, said:" In addition to removing dams and safety measures dams and suspend licenses. The fact that a large part of the mining industry is in the hands of privatized transnational corporations aggravates the situation. "We have been filing this complaint since the dissolution of Mariana.Val privatization process has created a situation in which the interests of the shareholders and those who determine the policy, the actions, the priorities, the speed of each thing are:" L & # Interest for society, the social problem, the victims, the environment, all this is secondary, "he criticizes

which is why the announcement of new privatizations "This will put a profit logic that will make all Brazil more insecure," said Binho. "One imagines the oil spills if Petrobras were to be privatized and the logic would be to accelerate the situation. 39. Exploration of oil. "The disruption of hydropower dams means that the benefit will require a reduction in maintenance.The social, environmental and other elements of national development in fact, and not just spoliation, profit, which is the logic of the performance of private companies in Brazil and which puts us in danger. "

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