Safety in Rejects Dams: a major challenge

Abstract

In Brazil there are 790 tailings dams with increasing accident records. In 2008 alone, 77 dam ruptures occurred. The highest occurrences were recorded in 2015 in the city of Mariana and in 2019 in the city of Brumadinho, both in the state of Minas Gerais. In addition to the great impact on watercourses, flora and fauna, 19 deaths were recorded in Mariana and in Brumadinho, 248 deaths and 22 missing persons. Given the serious consequences of these tragedies, the adoption of security systems to prevent such disasters is necessary. The purpose of this article is to introduce more efficient security systems. To this end, a thorough survey of dam legislation as well as safety and enforcement technologies currently used in dams will be undertaken.