30th Nov 2015 07:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - BHP Billiton PLC and Vale SA on Monday said a total of 13 fatalities have been recorded so far after the pair's tailings dam in Brazil burst earlier this month, as the clean up operation commences.
The pair each own a 50% stake in the Samarco joint venture, which was responsible for the Fundão dam which burst in early November. To date, 13 fatalities have been confirmed with a further six people still missing.
On Friday, the Brazilian federal government tabled plans to sue BHP and Vale for causing an environmental catastrophe in the region. The Attorney General of the Union, the Brazilian prosecutor, and the Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo states, filed a civil suit against the two companies along with the Samarco joint venture itself, for up to BRE20.0 billion, or USD5.2 billion, for the environmental damage caused by the Fundão dam bursting.
On Monday, the two companies said they are still committed to establishing a separate, voluntary, non-profit fund to support the recovery of the Rio Doce river system, which was affected by the dam burst.
"Samarco and local authorities continue to assess and monitor water quality in the Rio Doce river system. Where water supplies have been affected, alternative water supplies are being provided by Samarco, working with local authorities," the companies said in a statement.
BHP and Vale said they carried out tests on the sediments leaked into the river between November 14 and November 18, which showed the concentrations of metals in the river "do not significantly differ" from the concentration levels found in the river prior to the dam burst.
The companies also said SGS Geosol, a company specialising in environmental geochemistry, has confirmed that the tailings are composed of materials that are "not hazardous to human health, based on the hazard classification of the material under Brazilian standards."
"Samarco has advised that the tailings material released as a result of the breach of the Fundão and Santarém dams is considered to be non-reactive and would be geochemically stable when introduced to the river system or ocean. As a result of the high volume of sand and clay tailings material that moved through the river system, a large number of fish died due to reduced oxygen uptake. Assessment of these impacts is ongoing," the companies said.
"The tailings plume has reached the Atlantic Ocean and is dispersing. Samarco has developed a program for monitoring the plume in the ocean and authorities have provided direction on the scope of the required testing under the programme," they added.
Clean-up work has started in the Barra Longa area, focusing on repairing infrastructure such as roads, housing and bridges, BHP and Vale said in a joint statement.
The pair continue to monitor the remaining dam structures at the joint venture and said interim work to repair the damage to the dams has started. Operations at the joint venture remain suspended.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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