After the  Mariana dam disaster in 2015, officials vowed ‘never again’. However, in January 2019, just three years later, a mining disaster struck once again, this time causing an even greater loss to human life.

Nearly 300 people died when a tailings dam collapsed in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, and, once again, toxic sludge was released into the environment. It destroyed infrastructure, submerged vehicles, contaminated water supplies and has continued to harm ecological systems and individuals alike. 

Pogust Goodhead is looking to hold TÜV SÜD to account after they certified the dam’s stability despite the clear warnings about its potential for destruction. TÜV SÜD is a German industrial inspection company which granted a safety certificate for the dam just months before its collapse. 

The elements of the catastrophe were evident before it struck; news reports detailed structural problems, damaged monitoring systems, blocked drainage pipes and water seeping from areas of the dam.

The liquefaction of tailings, consisting of water and the by-product of iron ore mining and the subsequent phenomenal force of mud, was preventable.