The Brumadinho dam, with 12.7 million cubic meters of waste and 86m in height (a 28-story building), accumulated heavy metals, iron and silica residues, toxic sediments that cause serious human and environmental damage (https: // bit.ly/2i1RUbv, https://bit.ly/2MHCDte).
The risk was known: in December, IBAMA had warned about the possibility of breaking (https://glo.bo/2FRC3bL) and its warning was not taken into account. In a decisive meeting, only one vote was against among seven favorable to the demand of Vale, guaranteeing license for the continuity of operations. They did not take into account the risk to the lives of workers and also of the inhabitants of Brumadinho, in addition to all that toxic waste polluting all the water of the Paraopeba basin that covers 48 cities, with a population that exceeds 1.3 million people (https: / / / bit.ly/2G6GVJ6).
The mud is now advancing at 1 km / hour and it is still possible to reach the San Francisco River, in case the dams at the Retiro Baixo Hydroelectric Plant and the Tres Marías do not manage to hold the waste (https://glo.bo / 2RX6X8Q).
The dam that broke in Brumadinho was of “ascending ascending” (that uses the own rejections in its construction, as it was the dam of Mariana) and it was not safe. There are 130 dams like this in the country (https://glo.bo/2MAtGSa).
More information: in Portuguese
“The weight of mining is imposed on Minas and blocks the regulation even after Mariana” – El País, 01/27/2019: https://bit.ly/2RmdDIG
“The dam of the Vale that broke in Brumadinho is equal to that of Mariana” – G1, 01/28/2019: https://glo.bo/2MAtGSa
“Affected cities in the Paraopeba River Basin” – Correio Braziliense, 01/25/2019: https://bit.ly/2G6GVJ6
“Geological Service indicates the possibility of mud reaching the San Francisco River” – G1, 28/01/2019: https://glo.bo/2RX6X8Q
“Heavy metals: a dangerous danger” – USP: https://bit.ly/2i1RUbv