Mining dams in the Amazon: potential environmental pollutor-degrader and threat to collective health

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to conduct a study on mining dams in the Amazon, focusing on those located in Parauapebas, which is the main mining municipality in Brazil. Dams classified as High Potential Damage Associated – HPDA were considered to analyze the possible environmental impacts, damage to the health of surrounding populations, as well as the effective existence of the emergency action plan in the event of an accident. This issue is motivated by last disasters that occurred due to collapse of dams in Brazil, highlighting the need to improve the safety conditions of these structures and also new methods and practices in mining that combine economic efficiency with environmental efficiency. The research was developed under a vast theoretical framework, as well as data acquired in official Brazilian Government agencies. The results show that despite the recent tragedies that have occurred in the country, the inspection for legal compliance with established standards is still limited and very dependent on monitoring of mining companies themselves, which increases the potential for degradation to the environment and collective health due to ore exploration. Upon analysis of the Brazilian legislation, it was noticed gaps that result fragile licensing processes and with poor inspection capacity of the State. There is also the inadequate and ineffective existence of the Emergency Action Plan for Mining Dam-EAPMD, whose mandatory by law is recent and which has difficulties to be carried out efficiently, given that currently, in the state of Pará, there are no effective conditions to guarantee the safety of these dams, since there is an intricate political and economic scenario unfavorable to compliance with the rules, coupled with the insufficient number of inspectors trained to act in control and inspection, in a preventive manner, to guarantee the safety of these structures.