The Environmental Price of the Mariana Dam Disaster
On November 5, 2015, the city of Mariana in Minas Gerais, Brazil, became the focal point of one of the most devastating environmental disast
The catastrophic Fundão dam collapse in Mariana unleashed approximately 50 million tons of toxic mine waste—equivalent to 20,000 Olympic pools—severely contaminating over 850 km of rivers and riparian habitats with heavy metals and pollutants. The environmental disaster devastated aquatic life, polluted downstream ecosystems up to the Atlantic coast, and triggered extensive legal and remediation efforts by the Brazilian government and mining companies.














