EFFECT OF THE COLLAPSE OF THE CÓRREGO DO FEIJÃO MINE DAM ON THE QUALITY OF SURFACE WATER IN THE PARAOPEBA RIVER BASIN

Effects of the collapse of the Córrego do Feijão Mine Dam on the quaity of surface water in the Paraopeba River Basin

Abstract

On 25 January 2019, the B1 dam at the Córrego do Feijão mine collapsed, resulting in a torrent of around 12 million cubic metres of tailings, which contaminated the Paraopeba River, and caused the deaths of 270 individuals. This study aims to investigate the impacts of the disaster on the UPGRH SF3 - Paraopeba River Basin and analyse the progression of inorganic element contamination within the Paraopeba River. The data were obtained from the monitoring of surface water quality in the Paraopeba River Basin, developed by the Minas Gerais Institute of Water Management, from nine monitoring stations, on a time interval from 2017 to 2022. The results revealed concentrations of aluminium, arsenic, lead, iron, phosphorus, manganese and selenium, above the reference values set by CONAMA Resolution 357/2005 for water bodies classified as Class 2, across the SF3 basin. Contamination of arsenic, lead and selenium has emerged as a consequence of the Brumadinho disaster, but high levels of aluminium, iron, phosphorus, and manganese had already been detected prior to 2019. From 2021, all the parameters discussed showed a decreasing trend in the upper reaches and an increasing trend in the lower reaches of the basin.