Brumadinho disaster now one month old

One month after the tragedy caused by the rupture of Vale’s Dam 1 in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state, search efforts are still trying to locate 134 missing people. Search operations are estimate to last some three to four months after the collapse, firefighters reported. The death toll is now 176.

The dam, located 57 km from state capital Belo Horizonte, breached at around 12:20 pm Friday, January 25. Survivors recount that a sea of mud came flooding through the roads, the river, the local village, and the area controlled by Vale, the company in charge of the tailings dam. It was lunch time, so a number of workers were stuck in the cafeteria.

Perplexity, sadness, and outrage took over the country. The difficulties stemming from the mud and the contamination risks, coupled with the heavy downpours increased the tensions in the search for victims. Whole families disappeared. Not everyone has been located.

The mining waste reached river Paraopeba, and the state government banned water consumption due to contamination risks. No estimate has been made as to when the measure is being lifted.

On February 18, a ruling was published by Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy outlining the accident prevention measures for the approximately 1 thousand dams in the country, effective as of this year, until 2021.

The plan includes having all upstream dams—like the one in Brumadinho—shut down or decommissioned by August 14, 2021.

Company

Three days ago, Vale reported to labor prosecutors it will keep the payment of two thirds of the salaries of all of its own workers as well as those outsourced who died in the tragedy. The payment, the mining giant said, will be preserved for a year or until a definitive compensation deal is reached.

The company also pledged to only have Brumadinho workers relocated if they and the union trade agree with the change. Workers’ place of origin will be prioritized.

Vale had vowed to keep employees’ jobs and salary, including those of outsourced workers, until December 31, 2019. The firm also committed to paying costs like funeral and termination fees of the deadly victims.

The company also reported it will provide psychological help and pay allowance for nursery and education, in addition to moral damages for victims’ spouses and partners, children, parents, and siblings.