Five years after the Brumadinho dam collapse: Evaluation of water quality based on combined analysis of land use and environmental data.
Autor: | Mello CCS; Postgraduate Program in Sanitation, Environment and Water Resources, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: caiocsm@ufmg.br., Leão MMD; Postgraduate Program in Sanitation, Environment and Water Resources, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil., Amorim CC; Postgraduate Program in Sanitation, Environment and Water Resources, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: camila@desa.ufmg.br. |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Zdroj: | The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Dec 20; Vol. 957, pp. 177619. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 20. |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177619 |
Abstrakt: | The collapse of the dam in the Paraopeba River watershed in 2019 triggered significant concerns regarding water quality in the region. This study aimed to assess, five years after the disaster, the effects on water quality and understand the underlying factors of environmental pressure contributing to the observed changes. To perform the evaluation, the study utilized surface water quality data pre-disaster (2012-2018) and post-disaster (2019-2023), environmental data regarding the identification of high-polluting potential industries operating in the region of interest, and land use for the watershed as a combined evaluation. Nonparametric statistical tests Kruskal-Wallis, complemented by Dunn's, were employed to assess the significance of changes in water quality parameters post-collapse. The results indicate a relatively stable baseline scenario of land use dominated by agriculture and pasture, with minor changes observed in forest cover and urban development. However, post-collapse assessments showed significant variations in water quality parameters, with turbidity exceeding conformity levels by up to 68 % (over 100 NTU), dissolved iron (Fe) by up to 70 % (over 0.3 mg.L -1 ), manganese (Mn) by up to 91 % (over 0.1 mg.L -1 ), dissolved aluminum (Al) by up to 83 % (over 0.01 mg.L -1 ), and lead (Pb) by up to 26 % (over 0.01 mg.L -1 ). Statistical tests suggested possible effects of the dam collapse on turbidity, pH, dissolved Fe, Mn, and dissolved Al. Temporal analysis showed constant effects on water quality, with notable increases in dissolved Fe and Mn concentrations observed upstream post-disaster and persistent impacts downstream. New mining activities licensed after 2019 may have contributed to the deterioration of water quality, highlighting the relevant relationship of anthropogenic activities and the environmental disaster in the Paraopeba River watershed. Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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