A Canadian environmental consulting firm will be tasked with assessing the damage caused to Baixo Guandu, northwest of Espírito Santo, by the passage of mud from the collapse of the Samarco dams, owned by Vale and the Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton. Mariana, Minas Gerais.

After a meeting held this Wednesday (25) between representatives of the mining company and the town hall, it was decided that the region would receive the full support of the consultancy firm that operates in different parts of the world.

According to the Secretary of Environment of Baixo Guandu, Ivone Gobbo, from Thursday (26), technicians from the Canadian company will be in the city to carry out the analyses. Samples of water, fauna and flora will be taken for the development of future spring recovery projects in the region.

The proposal is to identify, in addition to the impacts in the environmental field, what were the socio-economic damages caused in the municipality. “First, the company will carry out a social, environmental and economic survey in five days. Then they come back and specify the actions that will be taken,” he explained.

The secretary added that in addition to the tons of fish that appear to be dead in the area, it is still possible to see several species on the banks of the river dying due to the lack of oxygen and the high turbidity of the water.

Baixo Guandu
Claiming that Samarco had not responded on the future of the fishermen, Baixo Guandu Mayor Neto Barros said he would bring the professionals to the company’s door as a means of payment.

“I’ve already spoken to them. There are 250 men. I put everything in a bus and off we go,” the mayor said. He demands that Samarco pay a monthly salary to support the workers who lived on fish from the Rio Doce.

The mayor also reports that fish merchants are having difficulty making sales and paying fishermen.

23/11 – Infographic version of the Mariana dams (Photo: Arte/G1)