"A Brazilian state court has ordered Vale SA to refrain from disposing of tailings at eight of its dams, in the wake of the environmental disaster last month, which spilled 3 billion gallons of mining waste, obliterated a town, killed more than 120 people and has likely buried another 200 people under several yards of contaminated mud.
The collapse of the tailings dam on the outskirts of Brumadinho in southern Brazil on Jan. 25, and the rivers of rust-colored sludge still sweeping through the region, have prompted federal regulators to initiate safety audits of hundreds of tailings dams across the country. It has also triggered public calls for widespread reforms in how mining companies store their waste.
Tailings are the chemical and finely ground rock particles that are left over once the valuable mineral has been extracted from mines."
Vanessa Romo reports for NPR February 4, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"Brazil Institute: Potential Health Crisis From Dam Breach" (AP)
