Environmental disaster of Fundão Dam, MG (Brazil): analysis of socio-environmental impacts

The disruption of the Fundão dam, located in the municipality of Mariana (MG), was responsible for the biggest disaster caused by a mining company, being considered the largest environmental catastrophe ever occurred in Brazil. About 34 million m³ of iron ore tailings were released into the environment, according to IBAMA's Preliminary Report (2015), by mining company Samarco -a company associated with Vale do Rio Doce and British company BHP Billiton. Rivers, streams and vegetation were hit, as well as the burial of homes and properties leaving many families homeless, without their means of subsistence, and weakened by the deaths of close ones. Within hours, after the dam broke, the mud reached the Doce River, causing increased turbidity of the water and causing the death of thousands of fish and other animals. In this work a bibliographic search of the main environmental impacts generated by the disaster was made, separated in three categories of damages: environmental, social and environmental and human, as well as the recovery plans of each one. The results showed that the impacts were highly complex, that many areas will be unable to return to their previous state and some plans will take long years to complete. (author)