TÜV SÜD AG will no longer conduct safety assessments of mining dams following the fatal tailings dam breach at Vale SA's Feijao iron ore mine in January, Reuters reported Aug. 19, citing TÜV SÜD CEO Axel Stepken.
The disaster, which killed nearly 300 people, happened just four months after the German industrial inspection firm certified the dam's safety in September 2018.
However, Stepken argued that in its safety report, TÜV SÜD had warned against operating heavy equipment near the dam, something which he speculated may have happened after the company gave the certification. He also did not rule out controlled explosions nearby as the possible cause of the collapse, a theory Brazilian police also reportedly considered.
"The operator is responsible for safety, and that is Vale," Stepken told the newswire.
The Brazilian Senate called for the prosecution of TÜV SÜD over the disaster, which impacted the company about €75 million in legal and other costs, the report said.
