Find out about the goals of Subproject 23 and the importance of the work done by the team

Published on 04/27/2020

The main objective of Subproject 23 - Determination of organic compounds in tailings - is to determine qualitatively and quantitatively the organic compounds in soil and tailings samples to be collected by Subproject 08 in the areas where the B I, B IV and B IV-A dams were located and in the areas near the tailings spreading in the sub-basin of the Ferro-Carvão stream, in Brumadinho (MG). With the rupture of Vale's dam on January 25, 2019, in Brumadinho, approximately 13 million cubic meters of mining tailings were released into the environment, directly impacting several nearby communities, including buildings owned by Vale itself.

The tailings slurry brought, into the environment, in addition to the material from the ore tailings dam itself (with a wide variety of organic compounds originating from the mining process itself), deposits of inputs, transformers, laboratories, machinery, vehicles and stocks of agricultural inputs from producers in the region.

It is important to mention that exposure to the contaminants present in these materials dispersed in the tailings slurry, which are present in soils, in the air (due to suspension of particulates from the dry slurry), in rivers and sediments, can lead to risks and damage to the health of the populations inhabiting these sites.

Thus, it is extremely important that the soils and tailings of the directly affected areas be characterized with respect to the organic compounds (which are listed in CONAMA Standard 420), their degradation products and possible other polluting organic compounds that may appear. The analysis work carried out by Subproject 23 is fundamental for a diagnostic supply about the real damages caused by the rupture of dam B1 of Mina do Córrego do Feijão, as well as to contribute in the direction of the continuity of actions for the recovery and reconstruction of the affected area.

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