Eleven years after Mariana, UFES monitoring still finds fish with tumors and deformities
The program points to a gradual drop in contamination in the Doce River and along the Espírito Santo coast, but stresses that it does not assess the risks of eating fish.
Translated from the Portuguese original by the Panorama newsroom. Read in Portuguese
Summary written by the Panorama newsroom from the sources listed below. Facts are attributed to the original publications.
Eleven years after the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais, an anniversary marked this Thursday (5th), researchers at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) are still recording changes in the aquatic ecosystems of the Doce River basin and the Espírito Santo coast, according to g1. Their findings include deformed fish larvae, unviable eggs, tumors and contaminants above the limits set by Anvisa, Brazil's health regulator, in some samples.
Tests carried out by the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), at the request of ICMBio, the federal biodiversity agency, on three marine fish with external deformities found lead above the permitted level in a flounder: 0.726 mg/kg, against a limit of 0.30 mg/kg. Two croakers were within the limits, but one of them had a nodular mass extending from the jaw into the mouth. UFES stresses that the results apply only to those specimens.
According to the university, contamination levels in the water, sediments and fish have been falling gradually, but they fluctuate during periods of heavy rain. In fresh water, native species have declined and introduced species have increased.
The Aquatic Biodiversity Monitoring Program (PMBA), coordinated by UFES, said it does not assess human health risks from eating fish and that its sampling is not aimed at commercial-size fish, which is expected to change in the next cycle. Last week, an ordinance from the Fisheries and Environment ministries reinstated commercial fishing in a stretch of sea near the mouth of the Doce River; in a response to g1, Anvisa said the levels found do not, at this time, indicate any concern about consumption.
Fishermen told g1 about turtles with ulcers and fish with visible wounds. Vale reaffirmed its commitment to full reparation, and Samarco cited the continuous monitoring provided for in the New Doce River Agreement. BHP did not comment, and the Health and Environment ministries had not responded by the time of publication.