06/11/2015
Samarco informs that put into action along with Civil Defense, Fire Department, Military Police and other relevant institutions, all the actions foreseen in Samarco’s Emergency Action Plan on Dams – validated by the authorities due to the rupture of Fundão and Santarem dams, located in Bento Rodrigues district in Mariana, Minas Gerais, which took place on the afternoon of Thursday, November 5. The mining company is mobilizing every effort to prioritize the care and integrity of the people who were working in or living near the dams, in addition to actions to contain environmental damage. Samarco operations at the Germano unit stopped.
To date, number of victims and missing can’t be confirmed. All people rescued with injuries are being taken to emergency care in Mariana’s hospital and other nearby municipalities. The homeless were forwarded to Mariana gymnasium where teams provide assistance to everyone. At this time, there is no confirmation of the causes and the full extent of what happened. Investigation will point the real causes of the incident.
Samarco dams are composed of four structures: Germano, Fundão, Santarem and Cava de Germano. All have operation licenses issued by the regional environmental office. This office is responsible for the recurring inspection processes and certifies the integrity of the structures. The last inspection took place in July 2015 and indicated that the dams were in total safety conditions. Samarco also performs its own inspections, according to the Federal Law of Dam Safety and has operations team in 24-hour shift for prompt maintenance and identification, in case of abnormality.
Information on the composition of the iron ore waste
The waste is inert. It consists mostly by silica (sand) from the iron ore processing and presents no chemical that is harmful to health.
