- In 2015, the Fundão tailings dam collapse in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais killed 19 people, destroyed hundreds of homes and left the local economy in ruins.
- When the dam broke, approximately 50 million cubic meters (1.7 billion cubic feet) of arsenic-laced mud traveled over 650 kilometers (400 miles) down the Doce river, destroying the towns of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
- A U.K. court will decide whether the companies Broken Hill Proprietary and Vale are liable and should compensate the victims.
After years of delays, a class action lawsuit is finally moving forward against the companies involved in a catastrophic dam collapse that released toxic sludge into communities across rural Brazil.
Considered one of the worst environmental disasters in Brazilian history, the Fundão tailings dam collapse in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais killed wildlife, destroyed hundreds of homes and left the local economy in ruins. Now, a U.K. court will decide whether the companies are liable and should compensate the victims.
“If you haven’t properly analyzed your risks as a highly polluting business, and you haven’t thought of the consequences not to just to the local community that you work with day in and day out, but to the rest of the ecosystem, I think this case will illustrate how severe the consequences are,” said Guy Robson, an attorney on the Pogust Goodhead legal team representing the victims.
The dam was used to store iron ore tailings, a toxic waste product of iron ore mining operations, but it collapsed due to drainage and design issues, according to an internal investigation. The approximately 50 million cubic meters (1.7 billion cubic feet) of arsenic-laced mud traveled over 650 kilometers (400 miles) down the Doce river, destroying the towns of Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu de Baixo before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
The accident killed 19 people and poisoned crops and drinking water, resulting in an economic and public health crisis for over a million people in the region. It also destroyed a Catholic archdiocese and relocated members of the Krenak Indigenous community.
An independent study estimated that the “socio-environmental” damage amounted to as much as $10.8 billion. But the English court will determine its own figure and how it’s paid out to the victims.
U.K. citizen Jonathan Knowles had been living with his Brazilian wife and son near the Doce river for seven years when the dam broke. The sludge coming down the river had the consistency of melted chocolate, he said. The following day, dead fish covered the riverbanks.
“When we went down to the river, it was biblical,” he said. “Absolutely biblical.”
Knowles’ house survived the accident, but his water valve business didn’t. Without a steady income, he was forced to leave his family in Brazil and return to the U.K. in search of work. He managed to make ends meet as a driver on ride sharing apps, sending money back to his family every month. After a year, he’d saved enough to move his wife and son to the U.K. But they’re still struggling to make ends meet.
If the class action lawsuit is successful, the payout could help Knowles return to a normal life. “I very much doubt we’re going to get enough money to even put a deposit on a house,” Knowles said. “But it’d be really nice. I’m kind of hoping and praying that it might happen.”
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2018 but faced delays because the defendant, mining company Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP), tried to argue that an English court didn’t have authority to weigh in on an accident in a foreign country. It also argued that the case — which started with around 200,000 claimants but quickly grew to over 700,000 — was “unmanageable” for the court.
The lawsuit isn’t just seeking reparations for the people whose homes were destroyed but also for people like Knowles, whose lives were severely altered by the environmental damage and collapse of the local economy. The pollution destroyed the tourism industry, forcing hotels, restaurants and other businesses to shut down.
After years of appeals, a high court ruled in 2022 that there was jurisdiction to hear the case because BHP was domiciled in England at the time of the accident. It also ruled that the case wasn’t “unmanageable.”
Following the decision, BHP successfully applied to have Brazilian mining company Vale, the other operator of the iron ore mine, to be included in the case. Neither company responded to a request for comment for this article.
Vale made similar arguments about jurisdiction to the court but was unsuccessful. In October, both companies will begin a liability trial to determine what the claimants are owed.
“I think it would be good if somebody was held responsible,” Knowles said. “They might think twice…there might be a little bit of repentance. And they might not lie and get up to all the tricks that they’re doing. It would be a really good thing if somebody was held accountable.”
Banner image: A destroyed Bento Rodrigues after the accident. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.
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