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de Figueiredo Eufrasio Pauly G, Perina FC, Yamamoto FY, Kim BSM, Trevizani TH, Cruz ACF, Ribeiro CC, Menezes L, Figueira RCL, de Souza Abessa DM. Five years after the collapse of the Fundão Dam: lessons from temporal monitoring of chemistry and acute toxicity. Environ Monit Assess 2024; 196:247. [PMID: 38332213 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12405-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
In November 2015, the Fundão Dam break released millions of tons of metal-rich tailings into the Doce River Basin (DRB), causing catastrophic damage and potential ecological effects that reached the Atlantic Ocean. This study aimed to evaluate the geochemistry and toxicity of water and sediments collected in the DRB from 2015 to 2019 and to determine the spatial and temporal trends. Water and sediment samples were analyzed for metals and As by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and acute toxicity for Daphnia similis or D. magna. Results were explored using geochemical indices and correlation analyzes. Overall, higher concentrations of metals and As in water and sediments were observed immediately after dam breakage, but the levels exhibited a decreasing trend over time, although the levels of some elements such as As and Mn remained high in the upper DRB. The geochemical indices indicated mostly low to moderate contamination, and the enrichment factor (EF) demonstrated a higher enrichment of Mn in the upper DRB. Acute toxicity to water fleas (D. similis and D. magna) was occasionally observed in waters and sediments, but the reference samples were toxic, and the short-term effects were not correlated with metals and As. Overall, the results showed limited bioavailability of metals and As and a decreasing trend in their concentrations, indicating an ongoing recovery process in DRB. These results are important to decision-making regarding the disaster and actions for environmental restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fernando Cesar Perina
- CESAM-Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies and Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Flávia Yoshie Yamamoto
- Instituto de Biociências, Campus do Litoral Paulista, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
| | - Bianca Sung Mi Kim
- Departamento de Oceanografia da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brasil
| | | | - Ana Carolina Feitosa Cruz
- Instituto de Biociências, Campus do Litoral Paulista, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
| | - Caio Cesar Ribeiro
- Instituto de Biociências, Campus do Litoral Paulista, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
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