Changes in access to water and incidence of waterborne diseases after the Vale dam collapse in Brumadinho (MG), Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To describe, within the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) framework, the access to water supply services and the incidence of waterborne diseases in the communities affected by the dam disaster in Brumadinho (MG), Brazil.

METHODS

A quantitative and qualitative methodology was used, having as variables information on access to water supply services and waterborne diseases. The primary data were extracted from the "Brumadinho Health Project", using a sample stratum with 981 people interviewed, totaling 92.5% of the eligible population in the affected communities of Córrego do Feijão and Parque da Cachoeira. The secondary data from Brumadinho was extracted from the project "Sanitation conditions and the River Basin of the B1 River Basin of Mineradora Vale between 2017 and 2020", available in public databases between 2017 and 2020, and qualitative data was collected in 2022 through individual interviews with health professional also live in the communities.

RESULTS

With regard to access to water supply services, the results of this combined data analysis indicate that the HRWS is being neglected, especially with regard to availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of water. The study also shows a significant increase in the incidence of waterborne diseases in the region after the disaster.

CONCLUSION

It is necessary to use the HRWS as the basis to the implementation of public policies aiming to reduce vulnerability in access to water supply services.

Explanatory Matrices on the Causes of a Tailing Dam Collapse in Brazil: The (Dis)Articulation of Epistemes

Mining tailing dam ruptures are increasingly common events in South America. Due to their high potential degree for avoidance, they are considered to be technological disasters and often have a considerable impact on local populations and communities, as well as affecting the ecosystem. The failure of the Fundão dam in 2015 in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais (is) considered one of the largest socioenvironmental disasters in the country's history. Different explanations for the causes of the disaster were put forward by various social actors. This article critically analyzes these discourses through the theoretical-methodological reference of the social theory of discourse, with the aim of understanding the various discursive contexts of the causes of the breach of the dam. The analysis and understanding of these explanatory matrices suggested that different discourses present different epistemological approaches to the causes of the disaster, related to aspects such as sociohistorical, political, ideological, and asymmetric relations of power. The statements had different emphases, being associated with distinct epistemic positions that were often not in convergence.  Moreover, certain terms and approaches reinforce or minimize processes of vulnerability experienced by the affected populations. These discourses present consents, dissents, and contradictions and when systematically integrated can improve the planning of risk management and broaden the understanding related to technological disaster occurrence.