Lessons Learned from the Two Major Tailings Dam Accidents in Brazil

The failures of the Mariana and Brumadinho tailings dams in Minas Gerais, Brazil, had severe environmental repercussions and caused many fatalities. What should or could have been done to prevent these kinds of accidents? This paper discusses the management practices, relevant legislation, and super...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mine water and the environment 2021-03, Vol.40 (1), p.166-173
Main Author: Koppe, Jair Carlos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
Classification
Dam failure
Dams
Design
Disasters
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Ecotoxicology
Failure
Failure modes
Failures
Fatalities
Geology
Hydrogeology
Industrial Pollution Prevention
Legislation
Liquefaction
Mine tailings
Mineral Resources
Mining
Mining accidents & safety
Tailings
Technical Article
Water Quality/Water Pollution
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Summary:The failures of the Mariana and Brumadinho tailings dams in Minas Gerais, Brazil, had severe environmental repercussions and caused many fatalities. What should or could have been done to prevent these kinds of accidents? This paper discusses the management practices, relevant legislation, and supervision of tailings dams in Brazil, as well as the possible causes of these dam breaks, and evaluates whether the measures taken by National Mining Agency (ANM) will prevent more such accidents. Intensive investigation of these accidents revealed some similarities and discrepancies. The failure mode for both tailings dams was liquefaction flow. Considering that many other tailings dams are in similar conditions, it is likely that further failures may occur, despite the measures taken by the ANM.
ISSN:1025-9112
1616-1068
DOI:10.1007/s10230-020-00722-6