BHP Billiton, the Brazilian-Australian multinational, and Vale, the Anglo mining firm, failed to take action that could have prevented Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster, despite having predicted the impact of the dam collapse that caused it six months prior to the event, according to federal prosecutors in the country. The Fundão Tailings Dam collapsed in November 2015, releasing 40 million litres of waste from iron ore extraction. The disaster killed 19 people, polluted the water supply for hundreds of thousands more and devastated local wildlife. The court case investigating the disaster was suspended last July, but resumed in November.
BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian multinational, and Vale, the Brazilian mining firm, failed to take action that could have prevented Brazil’s worst-ever environmental disaster, despite having predicted the impact of the dam collapse that caused it six months prior to the event, according to federal prosecutors in the country. The Fundão Tailings Dam collapsed in November 2015, releasing 40 million litres of waste from iron ore extraction. The disaster killed 19 people, polluted the water supply for hundreds of thousands more and devastated local wildlife. The court case investigating the disaster was suspended last July, but resumed in November.