Minas Gerais has seen the numbers of positive covid-19 cases rise exponentially in recent weeks. There are already 32,769 people infected and 806 deaths, according to the Thursday bulletin (25) released by the State Department of Health. Despite the concern of the situation of all 652 municipalities where there are confirmed cases, in places with activities related mining, the situation is catastrophic.
In municipalities such as Itabira, Brumadinho, Conceição do Mato Dentro, Itabirito, Mariana, Ouro Preto, mining is largely responsible for the community transmission of the coronavirus.“The big issue is that mining, like many other economic activities, causes agglomerations. Workers wait together at the bus stop, get in the same van or on the same bus, get together in lines to stop at the bus stations of the companies, in addition to sharing cabins and machinery ”, explains Luiz Paulo Siqueira, member of the Movimento Pela Soberania Popular in Mining (MAM).
In addition, according to Luiz, mining causes the displacement of workers between cities, who live in one location, but work in other municipalities, being a potential for regional spread of the virus.
Case boom
In Itabira, which already reaches 523 confirmed cases, it has experienced an explosion since Vale started testing its direct and outsourced workers.In fact, aninspection carried out at the end of May by labor tax auditorsled to a 12-day shutdown of mining activities.According to a survey carried out by MAM, between 2 and 9 June, there was a growth of 22% of positive cases in the municipality, and on the days when the company was stopped - from 9 to 16 June - the increase dropped to 4% .
“What worries us a lot is that mining is one of the most unhealthy sectors according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).This is because the population tends to have more respiratory diseases, both because of contact with metal dust and with ore dust. In other words, both workers in the sector and the communities around the developments are likely to be part of the risk group of covid-19 ”, points out Luiz.
Graph shows the situation of the disease in the city of Itabira and region / MAM
Graph shows the situation of the disease in the city of Conceição do Mato Dentro and region / MAM
Graph shows the disease situation in the city of Brumadinho and region / MAM
Graph shows the disease situation in several cities in Minas Gerais / MAM
Impacts of crime
In Brumadinho, where the Vale dam broke in Córrego do Feijão in January 2019, there are already 159 positive cases registered until Wednesday (24), according to information provided by the City Hall.On Monday (22), in 24 hours the city presented a record of 22 more cases of covid-19.
The concern of the population of the municipality in relation to contagion by the coronavirus is intensified with the impacts of the rupture of the dam, mainly because of the works that are in progress after the crime.The main complaint of residents is the increase in respiratory diseases due to dust. Grazielle Silva, who is a rural producer, resident of Tejuco, community of Brumadinho, says that a large part of her family's vegetable garden was destroyed because of the dust.
“We are not being harmed not only financially.I have allergic bronchitis and due to the excess of dust, I have been having crises every day and we worry a lot because of the risk of covid-19. I use microvaporation and firecrackers because of allergy. And my whole family and I are doing psychological and psychiatric treatments. We are seeing our dreams, our work, being destroyed and without even seeing someone responsible for the company show up to resolve the situation ”, he denounces. The dust, according to Grazielle, is caused by the traffic of trucks on a road located approximately 100 meters from his family's vegetable garden.
Brumadinho's family garden was almost completely destroyed because of the dust / Reproduction
Fernanda Ribeiro, who also lives in Tejuco, complains about the same dust problem. “I have three children, my children, especially the 6-year-old, have been having sinus attacks one after the other. The same thing happens to me, with my 8 year old daughter. Bronchitis is not even mentioned. We live taking antiallergic, using the inhaler, making microvaporation, dripping antiallergic eye drops ”, he says.
The disturbance caused by Vale's works is repeated in other communities in the municipality, which makes it difficult even for coronavirus prevention measures linked to both hygiene and social distance.The professor at PUC Minas Carolina Resende, who works in extension projects in the community of Ponte das Almorreimas, in Brumadinho, reports that residents are struggling to take preventive measures independently, mainly because there is a very heavy traffic .
“It is not just a question of the person, her home, taking care of hygiene, isolation.Because it has a very large volume of employees who transit the place.There are people infected there because of that ”, he says.The community is close to the Paraopeba River, where anew water collection pointis being builtto supply the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte , since the Copasa station - built in 2015 - was destroyed by the tailings mud.
According to the Center for Emergency Health Operations (COES) in the municipality, the disease incidence rate in Brumadinho is 364.1 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, a much higher number compared to Belo Horizonte, which is 181.1 each 100 thousand inhabitants, and Minas Gerais, which is 141.2 per 100 thousand inhabitants.Also according to the city, positive cases increased during the month of June due to testing carried out by companies operating in the municipality.
This fact is explained by the greater spread of the disease and also by the increase in the number of tests performed, mainly by companies that operate in the municipality and carry out the testing independently, but forwarding all positive results to the Municipal Health Surveillance and, therefore, are included in the epidemiological bulletin.
Mining has to stop
At the beginning of the pandemic, on March 28, the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), issued Ordinance 135 / GM that considers as essential services all activities related to the productive chain of the mineral sector.This ordinance was reaffirmed by the federal government through Decree 10.329 / 2020.
Mining prevents social distance, which is why it is important to suspend activities at this time of pandemic.In part, mining is an essential activity, because we take goods to build social life, but there is no justification for maintaining operations now, especially considering the mining model we have in Brazil, that about 80% of production is destined for export, comments Luiz Paulo, from MAM.
Still according to Luiz, the suspension of mining activities must be a measure integrated in a package that guarantees the population conditions to face the pandemic.Among the actions, listed on theEmergency Platform for Confronting the Coronavirus Pandemic and the Brazilian Crisis, are the protection of work and employment, the guarantee of income for workers, and exemption from tariffs for basic services, such as water, gas and electricity .
Other side
On its website, Vale states that it takes several measures to combat covid-19.Among the actions listed, are the temperature measurement of employees at the entrance to the units, the distribution of masks, disinfection and permanent hygiene of workstations and environments and removal of employees with chronic diseases, application of quick tests to check if the employee has had contact with the virus.
(With the collaboration of Marina Oliveira, Social Articulator of the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte)
