News

A team of some 700 people, among employees of Samarco and its contractors, is working on several work fronts in municipalities in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, giving priority to assistance to the families affected by the accident, the rescue and care of animals, and the actions of assuring the supply and monitoring of water quality.

See the main actions implemented so far:

Housing
By the 23rd of December 2015, all of the families of Mariana and Barra Longa affected by the accident had already been accommodated in rented units or relatives’s homes, with the exception of three families which preferred to stay in a hotel. Samarco also committed to advance the amount of R$ 20 thousand to each family which was displaced due to the accident.

Assistance to families with victims
Samarco is paying an advance indemnity of R$ 100 thousand to each family with members who died or went missing due to the accident, in compliance with the action proposed in the partial agreement signed with the Minas Gerais Public Prosecution Service.

Health
Over 2 thousand psychosocial treatment sessions have been offered, for individuals, families and groups. The affected people also received required medication, prescription eyeglasses, orthopedic and medical equipment, laboratory tests and outpatient support. In Governador Valadares, health care agents have been going home to home to carry out, with the help of the community, a preventive control of endemic diseases, mainly dengue, leptospirosis and leischmaniasis, in addition to seeking the elimination of scorpions.

Education
In order to allow schoolchildren to conclude the 2015 school year, Samarco mobilized to offer a new infrastructure for the students in the impacted communities. It also provided for the distribution of school kits with backpacks, coloring pencils, pens, paint, playdough and other school material.

Reconstruction of bridges
So far, four bridges linking the communities have been rebuilt. The first one links the sub-district of Aguas Claras to Monsenhor Horta, the second connects Pedras and Borba to Aguas Claras and Campinas, the third is between Campinas and Barreto, and the fourth is the Onça Bridge in Barra Longa (MG). The expectation is that the remaining three bridges affected by the accident will be reconstructed by the end of January 2016.

Dialogue
Periodic meetings are being held with the communities, city administrations, state and federal government bodies, environmental agencies, Public Prosecution Service, public defenders, and other competent entities. The objective of these meetings is to provide clarification and information about Samarco’s actions as well as to promote the development of joint actions. Public service centers were installed in Colatina, Linhares, Marilândia and Baixo Guandu, in Espírito Santo, and in Mariana and Barra Longa, Minas Gerais. The objective is to centralize the handling of grievances, doubts and requests of the community, facilitating the Company´s response and its follow up of the solutions.

Employment and income
Samarco has provided emergency financial relief to the families who lost their monthly income due to the accident, in the form of prepaid debit cards. The allowance represents the monthly payment of an official minimum wage, plus 20% of said minimum wage for each dependent. This is in addition to the amount of R$ 338,61, equivalent to the cost of a staple food kit based on the official DIEESE (Inter-union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies) reference for Minas Gerais. Along the Doce River, 811 fishermen and other riverside dwellers also received allowance cards.

Some 800 people affected in Mariana and Barra Longa in Minas Gerais had their professional profile surveyed by the team focused on Occupation, Employment and Income, one of Samarco´s work fronts. The objective of this work is to promote the reintegration of these people into their former functions, reestablishing their working conditons or potentially opening up new opportunities according to the professional profile and interests of each person. In these municipalities, Samarco and partnering companies have contracted residents to work on renovation of houses, fencing and recovery of rural properties, revegetation, organization of donations, and caring for rescued animals.

Animal rescue
Three thousand animals of different species have been rescued from the affected areas. They have been receiving veterinary care, proper feed and daily attention from Samarco and outsourced company professionals. Many of the animals were identified by their owners and taken home. Others will temporarily stay at the shelters provided by the company, under the care of a specialized team.

Consumables such as feed, silage, corn, cornmeal and salt, among others, have been distributed to over 3300 animals which are staying at farms in Bento Rodrigues, Barra Longa, Bicas, Camargos, Gesteira, Guerra, Paracatu de Baixo, Pedras, Ponte do Gama, Santo Antônio de Pedras, Barretos and Campinas.

As a preventive action, fish and crustacean species from the regions of Baixo Guandu, Colatina, Linhares and Aimorés were rescued and transferred to other water ways which possess characteristics similar to those of their original habitat. Aqua Ambiental, a company specialized in environmental monitoring, and IPRAM – Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Marine Animals – [Instituto de Pesquisa e Reabilitação de Animais Marinhos], engaged by Samarco, collected 2799 specimens.