By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BRASILIA, BRAZIL — A report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that the mud and residue unleashed in areas of Brazil earlier this month contains toxic heavy metals and chemicals at high levels. This is in contrast to declarations made by the dam’s owner that the mud released in the collapse did not present a danger to human health and that the water was not contaminated.
The report was authored by special rapporteurs John Knox and Baskut Tuncak. The rapporteurs expressed their concern that information about the toxicity of the disaster took three weeks to surface.
Samarco claims that the levels of metals and chemicals in the water, while high, are below what is considered dangerous. The Brazilian government has also backed the company’s claims that there was no increase in the presence of heavy metals.
However the report, citing data obtained from the town of Baixo Guandu’s water department, describes heavy metal levels that are “several thousand times the acceptable maximum.”
Mr. Tuncak has said that he finds it “difficult to imagine that you would see such high, elevated levels normally – in a region where people are eating fish and drinking the water – and not have major impacts on human health or the environment.”
The dam was located at an iron ore mine owned by Samarco, which is jointly owned by BHP Billton (Anglo-Australian) and Vale (Brazilian). The collapse released 60 million cubic meters of mud and mine waste into the city of Mariana and the Rio Doce.
The initial burst and resulting outpour of mud and waste killed 13 people. A quarter of a million people in the region depend on the river for drinking water, which has been cut off as a result of the incident. Thousands of fish in the river have also died.
The incident has been called Brazil’s worst environmental disaster to date. Brazil’s Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters that Brazil’s federal and state governments intend to sue Samarco for 20 billion reais ($7.2 billion) in damages.
For more information, please see:
Gaurdian – Arsenic and mercury found in river days after Brazil dam burst – 26 November 2015
Reuters – Mud from Brazil dam burst is toxic, UN says – 26 November 2015
