Metals and Arsenic in Water Supply for Riverine Communities Affected by the Largest Environmental Disaster in Brazil: The Dam Collapse on Doce River

Abstract

Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, the collapse of Samarco dam directly affected the
Doce river. Inhabitants living along the river who relied mainly on Doce river's water supply for agriculture and
human consumption faced risk from the mining residue exposure. This study aimed to investigate the disaster’s
impact on small family farmers living in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States by water elemental quantification
and evaluate the potential pathways of contamination by survey. In July 2016, 48 water points - including well, river
and public distributed water - of 3 cities (Belo Oriente, Governador Valadares and Colatina) were sampled for
determination of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn elements. Ninety-eight percent of the inhabitants
interviewed related Doce river water usage before the tragedy for diversified purposes, while only thirty-six per cent
used it after the disaster, mainly for irrigation. Fe and Mn presented concentrations above the Brazilian legislation
for drinking water and irrigation in all locations, but not in all samples. Pb concentration was above the drinking
water legislation in one location. All the other elements concentrations were within safe limits. Colatina, the farthest
city from the dam, presented the highest values, followed by Governador Valadares and Belo Oriente.

Full text

Orbital: The Electronic Journal of Chemistry
journal homepage: www.orbital.ufms.br
e-ISSN 1984-6428
| Vol 10 | | No. 4 | | Special Issue June 2018 |
FULL PAPER
*Corresponding author. E-mail:  gabriell.goc@biof.ufrj.br
Metals and Arsenic in Water Supply for
Riverine Communities Affected by the
Largest Environmental Disaster in Brazil:
The Dam Collapse on Doce River
Gabriel Oliveira de Carvalho*a, André de Almeida Pinheiroa, Dhoone Menezes de
Sousaa, Janeide de Assis Padilhaa, Juliana Silva Souzaa, Petrus Magnus Galvãoa,
Thaís de Castro Paivaa, Aline Soares Freireb, Ricardo Erthal Santellib, Olaf Malma,
and João Paulo Machado Torresa
aLaboratório de Radioisótopos Eduardo Penna Franca, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Bloco G, Sl. 061, Rio de
Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil.
bDepartamento de Química Analítica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Avenida Athos da Silveira Ramos, 149, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-909, Brazil
Article history: Received: 02 October 2017; revised: 21 February 2018; accepted: 27 February 2018. Available
online: 20 June 2018. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v10i4.1081
Abstract:
Considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazilian history, the collapse of Samarco dam directly affected the
Doce river. Inhabitants living along the river who relied mainly on Doce river's water supply for agriculture and
human consumption faced risk from the mining residue exposure. This study aimed to investigate the disaster’s
impact on small family farmers living in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States by water elemental quantification
and evaluate the potential pathways of contamination by survey. In July 2016, 48 water points - including well, river
and public distributed water - of 3 cities (Belo Oriente, Governador Valadares and Colatina) were sampled for
determination of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn elements. Ninety-eight percent of the inhabitants
interviewed related Doce river water usage before the tragedy for diversified purposes, while only thirty-six per cent
used it after the disaster, mainly for irrigation. Fe and Mn presented concentrations above the Brazilian legislation
for drinking water and irrigation in all locations, but not in all samples. Pb concentration was above the drinking
water legislation in one location. All the other elements concentrations were within safe limits. Colatina, the farthest
city from the dam, presented the highest values, followed by Governador Valadares and Belo Oriente.
Keywords: contamination; Doce river; family farming; metals; dam collapse; water
1. Introduction
On 5th November of 2015, an iron-ore mining
dam called Fundão collapsed in Mariana city,
Minas Gerais State in Southeastern Brazil. More
than 50 million cubic meters of toxic mud were
leached [1, 2]. This event has been considered
the worst Brazilian environmental disaster due to
its large scale and social and environmental
damages [3]. The dam belongs to the mining
company Samarco, a joint venture of Vale S.A
and BHP Billiton. The flood ran throughout more
than 600 km of the Doce river, leading to a direct
destruction of ecosystems, impacts on fauna and
flora, as well as serious socioeconomic losses
that caused problems regarding clean water
supply for human consumption and agriculture [3,
4]. A multitude of social problems have risen after
the dam rupture, mainly on water access for
consumption and irrigation.
Mining activity in Minas Gerais State has been
developed since the beginning of Portuguese
colonization of Brazil. Due its rich mineral
deposits, the region encompassing Mariana city is
named “Iron Quadrangle”. Formerly exploited
targeting gold, nowadays, iron is the main metal

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300
of interest in this region [5]. Mining activity leads
to the mobilization of trace elements to the
environment. It has been identified an influence of
iron-ore mining on the concentrations of the
elements Fe, Mn, Cu, Hg, Cr, and Ni to the
surrounding environment [6]. In that way, it can
either add new sources of contamination, or
mobilize the elements naturally occurring in the
sediment.
Doce river is the second largest river of the
southeast region of Brazil. Its draining basin
encompasses an area of approximately 83,400
km2. With a population superior to 3.5 million,
there are diverse economic activities along this
river, such as agriculture, mining, energy
production, human and animal supply, and
irrigation [7]. Family farming is practiced along the
Doce river and, consequently, the riverine
communities relied on the river water, mainly for
irrigation, animal supply and fishery. In a broader
definition, the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) considers that family farming is "a means
of organizing agricultural, forestry, fisheries,
pastoral and aquaculture production which is
managed and operated by a family and
predominantly reliant on family labor, including
both women’s and men’s" [8]. Brazilian legislation
has a stricter definition of family farmers which
specify the maximum area, amongst other
considerations [9]. Because of the usual small
properties and low income, it depends strongly on
the local availability of water and mineral
resources of the soils.
The mud from the collapsed dam presented
high proportion of sand and silt and it was mainly
composed of SiO, Fe, Mn, Cu, Ca and Cr [10, 11].
The waste that leaked from the dam caused
damages to human health, fishery resources,
water quality, riparian vegetation and compacted
the soil along the margins of the river [3, 4, 12].
Brazilian “Mineral Resources Research
Company” (CPRM) reported higher Fe
concentrations in the leaked mud (>15%) when
compared to the region background values, while
the other elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni,
Pb, Zn) were in a comparable level [13].
Nonetheless, Mn and Fe concentrations in the
Doce river have been reported to be respectively
four times and one and half times higher than the
water from an uncontaminated river nearby. In the
same study, it was also observed potential risks
of cytotoxicity, DNA damages and high potential
of mobilization from mud to water for Pb, As, Sr,
Fe, Mn and Al [11].
This study aimed to evaluate the potential toxic
risk posed by the use of water by riverine farmers
affected by the dam collapsed in Doce river,
regarding chemical elements concentration (Mn,
Fe, As, Cd, Sn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Zn, Cu, Hg), and
identify the critical pathways for the arsenic and
metal human exposure through the water uses.
2. Results and Discussion
All interviewed people between 18 and 82
years old were owner or in charge of small rural
properties. Amongst them 32 were males, while
12 were females. The majority only had up to the
middle school (65%), while few reached the high
school (21%) and some of them did not study or
were illiterate (14%). Twenty of them reported
being farmers; the rest defined themselves by
retired, fisherman, unemployed or housewives.
Some of the participants lived in remote areas
or under very simple conditions without access to
technology and media of information. Because of
that, 20% of them reported only discovering about
the dam collapse after the mud wave arrived at
their properties, despite living far from the
accident, at least 200 km downstream from
Mariana town. As a consequence, 88% of the
participants related changes and losses in their
agricultural production. The majority, however,
followed the news by television and anticipated
the consequences of the disaster. For the author's
information, there was no system or attempt to
notify these vulnerable residents about the danger
coming.
Concerning the Doce river water usage, 98%
related using it before the tragedy for different
purposes, such as irrigation animal supply,
cooking, swimming, showering and fishing. On the
other hand, only 36% used it after the disaster.
And within this group, about 80% of them were
only using it for irrigation, with different plants
cultivation being reported. There was a concern
about the health consequences of this water, as
60% of them considered the water not suitable for
usage even after treatment. Because of the
general concern about the public water, the
majority of them stated buying mineral water for
drinking and cooking, consequently increasing
their expenses. Nonetheless, only 48% declared

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receiving public or private support regarding water
supply, which means half of them had to rely on
buying or donations.
Concentrations of elements in well water
samples had a high coefficient of variation within
locations and a wide range of values (min and
max) (Table 1). This could be result of the large
heterogeneity of element composition in the soil
of Minas Gerais State [14] or even the
heterogeneity of the mud from the dam [11]. Fe
and Mn presented concentrations above the
legislation for irrigation and drinking water [15,
16], while Pb had one concentration above the
limit for drinking water in Belo Oriente. All other
elements presented values below their maximum
values permitted. In well water samples from
Colatina, the maximum value for Mn was 10 times
higher than the limit, and the maximum Fe found
was almost 50 times higher than stipulated as
safe. Belo Oriente presented the lowest values for
the majority of elements analyzed. Moreover,
Colatina city also had one well water sample with
Arsenic concentration reaching the maximum
permitted by legislation (Table 1; Table IS-
supplementary material).
Belo Oriente, Governador Valadares and
Colatina had respectively 4, 9 and 5 well samples
with concentrations of Fe and 2, 3 and 2 well
samples with concentrations of Mn above the
stipulated as safe for human consumption (Figure
1). To the best of authors’ knowledge, there are
no previous studies for well water in this region for
these elements before the dam collapse to
compare with; nonetheless, it was observed an
enrichment of Fe and Mn in sediments affected by
the mud in the Doce river margins [12]. Moreover,
in a study performed on well water sampled five
months later than the accident, the authors
reported Mn and Fe concentrations higher
(Mn=520 µg L-1; Fe=34130 µg L-1) in the sampling
point closer to the Doce river (Espírito Santo
state), when compared to the farther sampling
station (Mn=26 µg L-1; Fe=3830 µg L-1) [17].
Considering the high background concentrations
for Fe and Mn in the sediments of “Iron
Quadrangle” region - Fe=21.7 g L-1, Mn=6.3 g L-1
[14], it could be expected a natural enrichment of
these elements in well water along the area.
Fe concentrations in two samples of the
supplemental water supply offered by the dam
owner Samarco at the farthest city from the dam
collapse (Colatina city) were not in accordance
with to the Brazilian legislation regarding the
human consumption. The values were two to
three times higher than the threat value. The
samples of supplemental water supply at the
closest sampling point (Belo Oriente city) were in
accordance with the legislation for all analyzed
elements (Table 1).
Figure 1. Boxplot representing data for Fe and Mn from well points for Belo Oriente (BO) - 200Km,
Governador Valadares (GV) - 280Km - and Colatina (CO) - 400Km.

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Considering Doce river water samples, the
highest values were found for the farthest
sampling station from the collapsed dam (Colatina
city - 400 km), with critical values for Mn and Fe,
above stipulated as safe for a class 2 river [18] -
this legislation categorizes the water bodies in
classes, being class-2 suitable for drinking and
irrigation after conventional treatment, as well as
recreational and fishing. Samples from Colatina
presented maximum value for Fe and Mn
concentration one order of magnitude higher than
the threat limit (Table 1). In contrast, the closest
city from the collapsed dam - Belo Oriente city
(200 km) - presented the lowest values for the
majority of elements analyzed. Because there is
only 1 river sample for this city, the values cannot
be conclusive. In addition, one river sample from
Governador Valadares had Zn concentration
above the class-2 threshold. Considering that
CONAMA 357/2005 river regulation sets values
for dissolved Fe and Cu and our study reports
total Fe e Cu, direct comparisons are not possible.
However, when comparing the concentrations
with the other legislations, Colatina and
Governador Valadares had river points with
values of Fe above the stipulated for drinking.
Table 1. Elements concentration in river, well water and supplemental water supply for Belo Oriente,
Governador Valadares and Colatina. Values are in µg L-¹. Bold values are above maximum values
stipulated by Brazilian legislation. Drinking water: Portaria MS Nº 2914 - 12/12/2011. Irrigation:
CONAMA 396/2008. Class 2 river: CONAMA-357/2005. * Values for dissolved metals.
As
Cd
Cr
Cu
Fe
Hg
Mn
Ni
Pb
Sn
Zn
Reference values- Brazilian Legislation
a-Drinking
10
5
50
2000
300
1
100
70
10
-
5000
b-Irrigation
-
10
100
200
5000
2
200
200
5000
-
2000
c-Class 2 river
10
1
50
9*
300*
0.2
100
25
10
-
180
Well water (ab)
Belo Oriente (n=10)
Min
0.1
0.1
0.5
3.3
47
3.7
1.3
0.26
0.6
8.4
Max
0.5
0.2
6.3
12.9
1369
<0.1
183
2.5
11
0.8
21.0
Median
0.2
0.1
2.4
4.5
190
37.5
1.9
0.5
0.7
14.2
Gov. Valadares (n=14)
Min
0.1
0.1
0.2
2.3
63
4.2
1.1
0.3
0.6
5.9
Max
0.6
0.2
9.6
28.4
6826
<0.1
351
5.0
1.4
0.8
710.0
Median
0.2
0.1
1.1
3.4
460
62.5
1.7
0.5
0.7
27.3
Colatina (n=7)
Min
0.2
0.1
1.5
2.7
145
16
0.7
0.5
0.7
3.7
Max
10
0.3
3.1
4.6
14849
<0.1
1115
13
1.6
0.9
14.8
Median
0.3
0.1
1.8
3.8
426
21
1.9
0.6
0.7
7.8
Supplemental water supply (a)
Belo Oriente
0.2
0.2
0.4
2.7
114
<0.1
35
2.9
1.2
0.8
166.6
Colatina
0.4
0.1
1.7
3.7
169
<0.1
11
2.0
0.5
0.7
4.9
Colatina
0.4
0.1
1.9
6.0
675
<0.1
62
2.2
1.0
1.4
12.2
Colatina
0.3
0.1
1.4
10.9
837
<0.1
35
2.7
0.4
0.6
5.0
River Water (c)
Belo Oriente
0.2
0.1
0.5
7.3
220
<0.1
116
1.1
0.4
0.6
11.12
Gov. Valadares
0.2
0.2
4.1
3.4
1025
<0.1
522
2.9
0.8
0.6
167.2
Gov. Valadares
0.1
0.2
1.6
3.1
71
<0.1
3
1.7
1
0.7
504.8
Colatina (n=5)
Min.
0.2
0.1
2.0
3.2
132
9.7
1.9
0.3
0.7
4.7
Max.
3
0.2
4.0
49.8
1841
<0.1
1455
4.4
1.0
1.3
30.6
Median
0.5
0.1
2.7
4.4
1437
23
2.3
0.5
1.1
10.2

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An independent group of research recorded
higher concentrations for the elements As, Cd, Cr,
Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb one month after the accident in
the 3 river locations analyzed by our study.
However, there was no increasing pattern of
elemental concentration with the distance from
the collapsed dam in April 2016 [17]. This different
pattern could be related with the contamination
movement leaching down the river. Moreover, a
similar range of concentration for the elements
analyzed in the Doce river has been found
(samples collected at Bento Rodrigues, close to
the dam rupture, on 28th November 2015), except
Mn and Zn concentrations, which were higher in
our study [11]. Because it reported a specific
place different of our study, comparisons are
limited. The Governmental Environmental Agency
of the State of Minas Gerais (IGAM), which has a
historical monitoring for the river, found an
increase in concentrations of at least one order of
magnitude for the elements As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni for
some points of the Doce river, while Mn and
dissolved Fe presented a steep increase after the
collapse, followed by a reduction after 1 month
[19]. It is important to note that similar levels of
elements concentrations on Doce river have been
related before the accident however the historical
mean is lower than the values reported in our
study. These results, also presented in the Table
2, underlie the need to continue monitoring the
river contaminations to identify fluctuations and
possible leaching of contaminants to underground
water.
A previous study on Doce river after the dam
collapse reported elements concentration in the
particulate fraction as high as 48143 µg L-¹ for Fe
and 15514 µg L-¹ for Mn, while their dissolved
concentration were at least 2 orders of magnitude
lower - 102 and 273 µg L-¹, respectively [20]. This
result suggests that the larger amount of these
elements is bounded to the suspended particles
in the water. This could explain the high values
found in our study since there was a high
sediment input observed after the dam collapse. It
is also important to observe the potential risk of
remobilization from the particulate fraction, which
can make them bioavailable.
In addition to the impact caused by the mud,
other human activities can also influence the
elements contamination profile. Considering a
human population of more than three million
residing along its basin [7], there are multiple
potential agents which could impact the
mobilization of contaminants to the river and
underground water, such as: agricultural and
industrial activities, domiciliary and industrial
sewage, as well as historical mining in the region.
We found significant Pearson correlations (p <
0.05) between the elements Mn-As (r = 0.89), Mn-
Fe (r = 0.79), Mn-Sn (r = 0.53), Fe-Ni (r = 0.70),
As-Sn (r = 0.56), Cr-Cu (r = 0.57) and Fe-As (r =
0.57) for well waters (n = 30). The correlation
between the concentrations of Fe and Mn may be
related to the ore itabirita, which is abundant in the
region. The co-occurrence of these elements is
therefore natural in this geographical area [21,
22]. The soil composition could be also
responsible for other correlations found in this
investigation. However, more studies are needed
to confirm this hypothesis, since our data are not
enough to explain these findings. Additionally,
groundwater is not affected by the exact same
effects that influence river water, such as
oxidation of Fe and Mn by atmospheric oxygen.
There is also the adsorption of As in sedimentary
particles enriched with Fe and Mn, which could
explain the correlation between these elements
[5].
These values are also higher than considered
safe for drinking water by U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and European Environment
Agency, which estimated the maximum
contaminant levels for iron and manganese at 200
- 300 µg L-1 and 50 µg L-1, respectively. Thus,
considering the best and worst scenery the Doce
river population are ingesting approximately 228
and 1674 µg/day of Fe and 22 and 124 µg/day
exclusively by drinking water, assuming a daily
water intake of 2 liters [23, 24].
Daily intake of these elements, above a safe
concentration, can lead to health problems. Some
diseases are associated with high levels of these
elements in drinking water, for example, excess
iron can cause genetic disorder
(haemochromatosis), while manganese overload
can cause neurologic disorder, such as the
syndrome known as “manganism” which
resemble Parkinson’s disease and includes
symptoms like neurobehavioral manifestations,
weakness and rapid postural tremor and others
[25-27]. In children, undesired effects include
lower cognitive performance, impaired verbal
function, and full-scale IQ scores [28].

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Table 2. Elements concentration in the Doce river reported by other studies. Values are in µg L-¹. On
the table A = river points not reached by the mud, B = river points reached by the mud, <LOD are values
bellow the limit of detection (LOD), Naque is a city close to Belo Oriente. IGAM data refers to a data
series (1997-2015) with multiple points along the river before and after the disaster. * Values for
dissolved metals
As Cd Cr Cu Fe Mn Ni Pb Zn
River water – Segura et al [11]
A 0.04
± 0.03
0.009
± 0.005
0.09
± 0.06
<LOD 61
± 44
1.73
± 1.04
0.3
± 0.28
0.09
± 0.07
19
± 25
B 0.44
± 0.35
0.027
± 0.040
0.26
± 0.41
<LOD 1166
± 2583
135
± 254
0.59
± 0.50
<LOD 6.6
± 6.2
River water – GIAIA [19]
Naque 12/2015 <2 4 <40 - 25490 1210 50 <10 -
Naque 04/2016 <2 <1 <40 - 6690 142 <10 <10 -
Gov. Val. 12/2015 40 3 40 - 15865 1260 50 15 -
Gov. Val. 04/2016 <2 <1 <40 - 6360 104 <10 <10 -
Colatina 12/2015 14 5 40 - 3770 100 70 <10 -
Colatina 04/2016 4 <1 <40 - 1280 15 <10 <10 -
River water – IGAM [21]
Cu*
Fe*
Before 28 1.5 70 411 2070 1654 28 67 -
After 108 15.8 2873 675 32260 936000 2280 1650 -
3. Material and Methods
In July 2016, eight months after the dam has
collapsed, the water used for human and animal
consumption and also for irrigation were sampled
at 48 points, along 3 cities affected by the rupture
of the dam. Water samples were collected from
inhabitants’ wells, from the Doce river and also
from inhabitants’ supplemental water supply -
provided to them either by Samarco or
government. The sampling sites were cities along
the Doce River: Belo Oriente (n=16) and
Governador Valadares (n=16) at Minas Gerais
state and Colatina (n=16) at Espírito Santo state
(Figure 2). These cities represent a distance
gradient from the initial point of the disaster.
Additionally, field blanks (n=3) for each city were
collected.
Belo Oriente is located approximately 200 km
from the Fundão Dam at Minas Gerais state and
samples were collected in the most impacted area
of this city. Governador Valadares city, also at
Minas Gerais State, is approximately 280 km
distant from Mariana city. It is the largest city,
compared to the other two. Samples were
collected in the river margins, as well as in islands
where farmers used to live and develop
agriculture. Colatina is located at Espírito Santo
State, at approximately 460 km away from
Mariana.
Prior to sample collection, all sampling bottles
were decontaminated with 5% neutral detergent
(Extran®, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) for
12h and then decontaminated with 10% (v/v)
HNO3 (J.T.Baker, NEUTRASORB®, México)
solution for more 12h. Sampling was conducted
accordingly to the 1669 protocol from U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [29].
Water was collected in 1 L glass bottles and
conditioned with HCl (v/v) (Loba chemie, Mumbai,
India) 0.5% for mercury quantification and HNO3
10% (v/v) for analysis of the other elements.
Total mercury concentrations were performed
by cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy
(CVAFS) with automatized system (Merx, Brooks
Rand Labs®). Samples analyses were done
accordingly to the standard protocol EPA 1631
[30]. In the process, 25g of the water samples
were processed with 100 μL of Bromine chloride.
Following, 100 μL of Hydroxylamine 30% and
then 100 μL of Tin(II) chloride 20% were added to

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the samples. Quality assurance procedures
included the analyses of analytical blanks and
standard solutions (in concentration of the middle
of the analytical curve) between each 16 vials,
where the precision recovery was in a range of 70-
130%.
Figure 2. Map showing the three cities investigated at this study. Exact sampling points omitted to
protect participants confidentiality.
The quantification of total Zn, Ni, Cr and Cu
was performed in a flame atomization atomic
absorption spectrometer (FAAS, model
AA240FS, Varian). For the FAAS analysis, 1 L of
each sample was previously reduced to 20 mL
using hot plate, with periodic addition of HCl 37%
at 1 hour intervals, until complete digestion and
final volume of 50 ml. Concentrations of Fe, Mn,
As, Cd, Sn e Pb were obtained in an Inductively
coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS, X
Series II model, Thermo Fisher Scientific,
Bremen, Germany) with operational software
PlasmaLab at Laboratório de Desenvolvimento
Analítico (LaDA) at Federal University of Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. Operational instrumental
conditions are presented in Table 3. For ICP
analysis, water samples were previously filtered
on 0.45 μm cellulose acetate filters (Whatman). In
such assay, the authors assumed that the applied
sample acidification provided an appropriated
extraction/digestion for the purpose of the present
study, which is the acute toxicological risk for
human health. Although it means that this is not
the total element fraction in the sample, the
authors consider that the elements that are
strongly bound to the particles do not represent an
important toxicological human health threat. An
internal standardization was performed by
monitoring the isotopes of 45Sc, 72Ge, 103Rh and
205Tl.
For both analysis, the quality control (QC) was
carried out through the use of analytical and field
blanks, which were processed in the same way as
the samples. The mean field blanks
concentrations were subtracted from the samples.
Standard solutions of the elements analyzed were
separately injected with known concentrations as
quality control, and the recoveries were between
90% and 110%.
Table 3. Experimental conditions used on ICP-MS
equipment to element determination in water
samples.
Parameter
Experimental
Conditions
RF Power
1400 W
Nebulizing flow rate
0.90 L min
-1
Auxiliary gas flow rate
0.70 L min
-1
Aditional gas flow rate
0.14 L min
-1
Cold gas flow rate
13.0 L min
-1
Dwell time
10 ms
Resolution
300
Sample uptake rate
0.90 mL min
-1
Type of Nebulizer
chamber
Conical
Nebulizer
Meinhard
A socio-environmental questionnaire was
used to draw the profile of the inhabitants and
evaluate the potential pathways of human
contamination by the water affected by the
collapsed dam. In order to be eligible to participate
in this study, participants must have resided close
to the Doce river, as to be impacted by the dam

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306
collapse either directly or indirectly. Within these
requirements, the socio-environmental
questionnaire was applied and rendered general
information about its use and residents profile. It
was accompanied by an informed consent form to
explain the research purposes of the study. The
questionnaire can be accessed on the
supplementary material.
4. Conclusions
Our study revealed that water used by many
riverine families along the Doce River is
unsuitable for agriculture or consumption. There
are no pre-disaster studies in the region, so we
cannot affirm the disaster is responsible for the
contamination profile observed. Nevertheless, it is
very important to note that the disaster caused
families shifting the source of water they rely on,
from river to well or donation, due to the lack of
public and private support. We can highlight that
the use of this water in the long term could be
associated with health risks.
Further studies and a long-term monitoring on
the water quality along the Doce river are
essential, since metals and other contaminants
from the mud deposited in the sediment can be
continually resuspended and released to the river
and underground water. We also recommend an
investigation of potential contaminations in the
food produced in the region.
Supporting Information
Table IS. Elements concentration in river, well
water and supplemental water supply for all Belo
Oriente, Governador Valadares and Colatina
sampling points. Values are in µg L-¹.
Acknowledgments
Funding for the fieldwork and analysis of trace
elements was provided by Greenpeace through
Rio de Gente project. Part of the fieldwork funds
were provided by the Federal University of Rio de
Janeiro (UFRJ) through the availability of official
vehicles of the institution. The Brazilian National
Council for Scientific and Technological
Development (CNPq), the Coordination of
Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (CAPES)
and State of Rio de Janeiro Research Foundation
(FAPERJ) supported the post-graduate students
participating in the project through the scholarship
awarded.
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