​Today, February 05, Vale starts operating the third membrane installed in the Paraopeba river to protect the water withdrawal and supply system of the city of Pará de Minas (located 40km from Brumadinho). As previously reported, this preventive measure is part of the plan presented by Vale to the Public Prosecutor's Office and to environmental agencies.

Vale also installed 46 monitoring points along the Paraopeba river until it reaches the São Francisco river mouth. The measure includes daily collection of water and sediments for chemical analysis. Turbidity analyses are carried out every hour in other four points. The tailings that leaked from Dam 1 are concentrated in the Feijão e Carvão stream as well as in the confluence of the steam and the Paraopeba river.

See how the sediment control barrier works

The sediment control barrier is 50 meters wide and 2 to 3 meters deep. The structure works as a filtering fabric, trapping solid particles (clay, silt, organic matter...) that cause water turbidity and change its transparency.

To maintain the anti-turbidity curtains in a vertical position, there are metal chains at the lower edge (submerged part) that avoid the river flow to force the curtain to the surface. The flotation element is a cylinder buoy that can be used to prevent the spread of sediments suspended in water.

To read the latest info, go to vale.com/brumadinho