Researchers from the Brumadinho UFMG Project conduct fieldwork in affected municipalities
Published on 02/03/2020
The Brumadinho UFMG Project is composed of 67 subprojects that seek to identify and assess the emergency needs of the populations affected by the rupture of dam B1 of the Córrego do Feijão Mine, which occurred two years ago. A vital part of the research methodologies of the four research axes (Environmental, Socioeconomic, Health, and Infrastructure) is the fieldwork. At this stage of the studies, samples will be collected, scientific evidence , which will allow, from the analysis, the identification and evaluation of impacts, losses and damage resulting from the rupture.
Each research detailed in the approved project the entire process to be produced, aiming to ensure due technical-scientific rigor and to consider the ethical issues surrounding a field research. This step is essential for obtaining accurate results that are awaited with great expectation by the population, because they give a dimension of the actions necessary for the recovery of the impacts resulting from the disaster.
The rupture of Dam B1 of the Córrego do Feijão Mine, which occurred on January 25, 2019, in the municipality of Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, released approximately 12.7 million m³ of iron ore tailings that directly affected the basin of Ribeirão Ferro-Carvão and indirectly the entire length of the Paraopeba River. Therefore, the entire territory involved by the extension of the Paraopeba River and its tributaries is the area of action of the researchers, where they will carry out their field work.
To achieve the proposed research objectives, each subproject has a planning and data collection strategy unique to its area. Some research will collect the water and soil, sediments and tailings deposited therein, while others will collect the carcasses of dead animals, urine, hair and blood of domestic and wild animals to determine the presence of metals and metalloids in their systems, and there are also those whose fieldwork involves collecting data from the affected populations.
Check out more details about the environmental area projects that kicked off the field activity:
Fauna
The Subproject 05, Collection of Animals of Fauna in Forest Areas in the Paraopeba River Basin for Toxicological Analysis, coordinated by Professor Marcelo Pires Nogueira de Carvalho, has recently started doing fieldwork. The team is small, but includes professors from the Veterinary School and the Institute of Biological Sciences of UFMG, as well as doctoral, master's and even undergraduate students who are doing scientific initiation, and foresters from the region hired to open paths. This work will collect biological samples from wild animals. For this, after placing traps, the team is capturing mammals to collect their fur, urine and other materials to perform toxicological analysis. Due to the use of camera traps, they are also documenting the animals present in the area.
Fonte: Equipe de pesquisa do Subprojeto 05 do Projeto Brumadinho UFMG
The Subproject 07, Collection of Biological Samples in Domestic Animals for Toxicological Analysis, has been in the field since last year, also collecting samples for histopathological and toxicological analysis. The subproject, coordinated by Professor Antônio Último de Carvalho, aims to investigate the health of domestic animals, whether they are companion animals, such as dogs and cats, or production animals, such as oxen, cows, sheep and horses. The team, formed by more than 40 members, including veterinarians, master's and doctoral students, undergraduate students, and professors from the Veterinary School, is having good results, especially regarding dogs and cats, and are being very well received by the residents. This partnership is very important for the success of the research!
Fonte: Equipe de pesquisa do Subprojeto 07 do Projeto Brumadinho UFMG
Em relação aos animais que morreram nos últimos meses, quem atua são os professores e estudantes de pós-graduação que compõem a pequena equipe do Subproject 06, Collection of Samples from Dead Domestic Animals and Fauna for Pathological and Toxicological Analysis. They are waiting for calls from the community and reporting the death of domestic or woodland animals so they can perform the necropsy, i.e., analyze the body and take small samples. In addition, the subproject seeks to determine what led to the death of that animal.
Want to understand what the goals are that justify collecting biological samples for the research? Check out our video, where the research coordinator, veterinarian Dr. Felipe Pierezan, introduces us to the claims of the study.
WATER
The Subproject 10, Collection of groundwater samples from the Paraopeba River basin for determination of metals, metalloids, thermotolerant microorganisms and Escherichia Coli, coordinated by Professor Dr. Clésia Cristina Nascentes, started the field work. The team has the participation of eight other researchers, including professors, technicians, master's scholars and undergraduate student fellows.
The research will be conducted at 144 collection points. The water samples will be analyzed according to the protocols described in the National Guide for the Collection and Preservation of Samples of the ANA (National Water Agency, 2011), for the purpose of determining metals and metalloids (total and dissolved), thermotolerant microorganisms and Escherichia coli.
source: UFMG Brumadinho Project Subproject 10 research team
Due to reports of supply water with high suspended solids content on farms in the affected region, the researchers chose to also insert material collection for determination of metals and dissolved metalloids. In the following podcast, you find out what elements are analyzed by subproject 10 and what they can indicate about the water quality of the affected sites:
SOLO
Os subprojetos da área de Geografia possuem uma importância estratégica dentro do Projeto Brumadinho UFMG: ethey are responsible for producing a series of maps of the Ribeirão Ferro-Carvão and Paraopeba River sub-basin regions, areas directly affected by the dam breach disaster. The maps will serve as a cartographic base for other research carried out under the Brumadinho Project UFMG.
During the month of January, the Subproject 02, Land use and land cover mapping in the Iron Coal Stream sub-basin, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Dr. Rodrigo Nóbrega, has started the fieldwork. The research will rely on a set of methodologies, using Geotechnologies such as: satellite images, aerial survey by unmanned vehicle, positioning by GNSS, digital image processing by deep learning and spatial analysis via geographic information systems in multitemporal perspective.
Source: Research team of Subproject 58 of the Brumadinho Project UFMG
n the field planning phase, the Subproject 58 - Mapping and characterization of agricultural establishments belonging to the Ribeirão Ferro-Carvão sub-basin, coordinated by prof. Dr. Diego Macedo, and the Subprojeto 60 - Zoneamento ambiental produtivo - ZAP das Sub-bacias do Ribeirão Ferro - Carvão, coordenado pelo Prof. Dr. Carlos Lobo, iniciaram, em 21 de janeiro deste ano, ações exploratórias nos territórios onde serão desenvolvidos os estudos, a fim de organizarem a entrada em campo dos pesquisadores.
Source: Research team of Subproject 58 of the Brumadinho Project UFMG
Want to know more about the team responsible for mapping the use and land cover in the Iron-coal Sub-basin? Meet them in our video:
Finally, it should be noted that the nature of the fieldwork is unique to each research study, as demonstrated by the variety of collections presented above.
The subprojects of other areas, such as Socioeconomic and Population Health, are preparing for field entry in the coming days and will gather information directly with residents of the affected territories through questionnaires and interviews. This step is complementary to the work of collecting secondary data, that is, data available in the Census of the IBGE, in the DataSus health databases (DATASUS - Ministry of Health (saude. gov. br), em balanços de informações sociais como a da Relação Anual de Informações Sociais (RAIS) e outras fontes publicadas em órgãos oficiais.
Toda a equipe de pesquisadores do Projeto Brumadinho segue firme em suas pesquisas para identificar os impactos socioeconômicos, ambientais, na saúde e na educação dos municípios atingidos e continuará intensificando os esforços nos próximos meses, quando serão entregues os primeiros resultados tão aguardados por toda a população. Para acompanhar o andamento do Projeto Brumadinho UFMG, continue visitando nosso site: www.projetobrumadinho.ufmg.br