Victims
On 26 January 2019, Vale president Fabio Schvartsman said that most victims were Vale employees. Three locomotives and 132 wagons were buried and four railway workers were missing. The mud destroyed two sections of a railway bridge and about 100 metres of railway track.[23] As of January 2020, 259 people were confirmed dead, and 11 were considered missing.[7] Figures were later amended to 270 deaths.[24]
Environment
The dam failure released around 12 million cubic metres of tailings. Metals in the tailings were incorporated into the river sediments, with a higher concentration closer to the site of the spill. Analyses of the river sediment were conducted downstream for 27 elements, showing some minor increases in metal concentrations. Severe concentrations of cadmium were found at Retiro Baixo, some 302 km downstream from the mine site.[25]
Vale's president, Fabio Schvartsman, said the dam had been inactive since 2015 and that the waste would not have a large displacement. He said the environmental risk would be much lower than that of Mariana.[26]
Schvartsman was refuted by the executive superintendent of the Minas Gerais Association for the Defense of the Environment (AMDA), Maria Dalce Ricas, who stated there would be a major environmental impact due to the geographic characteristics of the region. According to her assessment, the flow of waste through the valley of the Serra dos Dois Irmãos would cross the road that links Belo Horizonte to Brumadinho and continue toward the Paraopeba River valley, an important conservation area of the endangered Atlantic Forest and its endemic fauna. That meant the toxic waste would certainly destroy part of the forest, killing many wild animals until it reached the river. She also stated that it would be difficult to assess the potential consequences for the river, which was already weakened and in poor condition, but which still provided water for part of the population and that, with the toxic mud, the water could no longer be consumed, and its collection should be interrupted.[27]
Economic impact
As a result of the disaster, on 28 January the Vale S.A. stock price fell 24%, losing 71.3 billion reais (US$19 billion) in market capitalization, the biggest single-day loss in the history of the Brazilian stock market, surpassing May 2018, when Petrobrás lost more than R$47 billion in market value. By the end of 28 January, Vale's debt was downgraded to a rating of BBB− by Fitch Ratings.[28]
In the city of Brumadinho, many agricultural areas were affected or totally destroyed. The local livestock industry suffered damage, mainly from the loss of animals such as cattle and poultry. The local market was also impacted due to the damage, with some stores and establishments remaining closed for a few days.
Impact on the public water supply
The water supply company Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais stated that the tailings had not compromised public water supply,[29] but as a precaution, suspended collection of the river water in the communities of Brumadinho, Juatuba, and Pará de Minas.[30] Due to the importance of the river for the municipality, the Agência Reguladora dos Serviços de Água e Esgoto de Pará de Minas reported that operations could go on as normal.[31]
Following assessment by state and federal health, environment, and agriculture agencies, the Minas Gerais Government announced on 31 January that raw water from the Paraopeba River, from its confluence with Ribeirão Ferro-Carvão to Pará de Mina, posed risks to human and animal health and should not be consumed.[32] Tests demonstrated that twenty other municipalities were affected by the dam's collapse.[33]
Reactions
President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro sent three ministers to follow the rescue efforts.[35] The Governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, announced the formation of a task force to rescue the victims.[36]
The Israeli government sent a team of 130 specialist engineers, doctors, search and rescue personnel, firefighters and naval divers to Brumadinho to aid Brazilian specialists in finding possible survivors.[37][38][39]
On 29 January, Brazilian authorities issued arrest warrants for five employees of the mine. Two senior managers of the mine and a Vale employee were arrested, alongside two engineers from the German company TÜV Süd, who had been contracted to inspect the dam.
