In the aftermath of the Feijao dam disaster, Federal police in Brazil have called for criminal charges against Vale SA, dam auditor TÜV SÜD AG and 13 employees, Reuters wrote Sept. 20.
Citing a document it had seen, the newswire reported that federal police proposed charges alleging falsification of documents concerning the stability of Vale's Brumadinho dam at the Feijao mine.
The dam collapsed in January 2019 killing about 250 people, destroying buildings and disturbing river habitat.
In response to the disaster, which came about four years after a similar dam failure at Vale's 50%-owned Samarco mine, the major iron ore miner shook up management and has made plans to spend billions of U.S. dollars on remediation and damages.
Vale said the same day that it was aware of the document on the dam breach and would analyze the content before "making any pronunciation on its merits."
TÜV SÜD said in August that it would no longer conduct safety assessments for mining dams following the disaster. According to an earlier report, a Brazilian senate committee sought to prosecute the firm for certifying the dam's safety.
