BHP Billiton Says Mud Tailings From Brazil Dam Burst Chemically Stable

According to the agency, the dam burst released 50 million tons of iron ore waste, which had high levels of toxic heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, into the river.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has moved to allay fears following reports that mud and tailings from the Brazilian mine disaster are toxic.

Their findings contradicted repeated statements by the Brazilian government and the mining companies responsible for the dam that the chemicals released by the accident were harmless.

In Samarco’s case, the volume of tailings grew from 5 million cubic meters to 55 million cubic meters in three years, which might explain why the dam collapsed. But Vania Somavilla, Vale’s executive director of human relations, health and safety, sustainability and energy, said the mud may have upset toxic elements settled in the bed of the Rio Doce, or along its banks. “The Government and companies should be doing everything within their power to prevent further harm, including exposure to heavy metals and other toxic chemicals”, the report said.

“Steps taken by BHP, Vale and the Brazilian government to prevent harm were clearly insufficient”, said UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment John Knox and UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak.

“Based on available data, the tailings [leftover rock and waste water from the mine] are chemically stable”, BHP said.

BHP owns the Germano iron-ore mine in the Samarco joint venture with Brazil’s Vale, which has been targeted by mud-coated protesters outside its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro following the country’s worst environmental disaster.

The findings? Levels of arsenic, lead, aluminum, chromium, nickel and cadmium many times higher than the legal maximums at various points along the river.

The mud flowed downstream into the Doce River, where it devastated wildlife and compromised the drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of people.

The plume arrived at the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend, roughly 800km from Samarco’s dam.

On Monday, Linhares council issued a warning for residents not to touch the brown waters, while local fishermen reportedly hired by Samarco started burying the dead fish strewn along the beaches.

Despite Samarco’s claims to the contrary, the United Nations’ Human Rights agency declared on Wednesday that the mud was indeed toxic.