Brazilian dam risk assessments: Ecotoxicology guides decision-making and community awareness in the face of disaster

Dr. Maria Clara Starling

Adjunct Professor at the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil

Jr. Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health

Abstract

In the past seven years, two major mining dam ruptures occurred in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a state where the economy relies heavily on the mining industry. The first rupture, Fundão Dam Rupture, took place in November 2015 in Mariana, and released 43.7 million m3 (over 57 million yd3) of tailings to the Doce River Basin. Those tailings impacted 600 km (415 mi) of river, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The second collapse occurred four years later (January, 2019) in Brumadinho, and released 11.7 million m3 (over 15 million yd3) of taillings to Córrego Ferro-Carvão, reaching the Paraopeba River. Both disasters led to social, economic and environmental impacts, with the loss of human lives, aquatic and terrestrial biota and ecosystem services. The loss of ecosystem services was devastating to local communities. This seminar aims to (i) tell stories about both disasters, (ii) address their impacts, (iii) expose how they are being managed and (iv) take a deep look at how ecotoxicology is being used as a tool for legal decision making in the context of the Brumadinho Dam Rupture.