Desastres enviam sinais: estudo de caso de Brumadinho

Abstract

The disaster in Brumadinho/Brazil, caused by the collapse of Dam I of mining tailings owned by the company Vale S/A (Vale), is considered the biggest industrial disaster in the history of Brazil, as it claimed the lives of hundreds of people, including Vale’s own workers, third parties and residents of the community surrounding the organisation, as well as causing an unprecedented environmental impact. Many studies have approached Brumadinho disaster from different perspectives, but none of them have tackled it from the point of view of a Disaster Theory. This research therefore sheds new light on understanding of the disaster. The aim of this paper is to study the Brumadinho disaster in the light of the Theory of Man-Made Disasters and to identify whether this disaster followed the six stages proposed by the Man-Made Theory and could thus have been prevented. Data sources used included the official investigation report into the accident, carried out by a government body; the report drawn up by an independent committee hired by Vale; in addition to the reports of the Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry (PCI) of the Federal Senate, the Federal Chamber of Deputies and the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais. The existence of the six stages of disaster development was identified during the study. Stage 1 was evidenced by the existence of a belief among the organisation’s employees that Dam I was safe and that there was no risk of a break. Stage 2 was characterised as a long period that began with the construction of the Dam I foundation, since there was no information about its foundation or the material used in the first elevations. Stage 3 was characterised by the exact moment of Dam I break. Stage 4 was evidenced by the consequences caused by the disaster, such as deaths of people and environmental damage. Stage 5 is characterised by the rescue and salvage of victims and was evidenced by the excellent work of government agencies and, on the other hand, by Vale’s lack of preparation in rescue and salvage. Finally, stage 6 was characterised by changes in legislation aimed at the safety of mining tailings dams in Brazil as whole. It can be concluded that the Brumadinho disaster went through the six stages of development, more specifically the incubation period, in which signs that a disaster was about to happen became apparent and consequently measures could have been taken to avoid it.