Samarco treats people like lab rats, says lawyer – 7/9/2023 – Panel SA

Associated with former president Michel Temer, lawyer Diego Carvalho accuses Samarco of having contaminated the water in the region affected by the rupture of the dam in Mariana (MG) with a substance called tanfloc which, in high doses, can cause cancer.

The lawsuit, which charges compensation of BRL 12 billion, is pending in the Minas Gerais Court, and has led to an investigation by the CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission) because Carvalho and Temer assigned part of their legal fees to a company that negotiates legal claims in the market.

As Panel SA reported, the company, M4, however, was not registered with the CVM to do this type of business. The case is still under review, according to the municipality.

Samarco and its shareholders, Vale and BHP, consider that the action is innocuous because the compensation of the families affected by the accident has been taking place through Renova, an independent entity created for this purpose with the supervision of public authorities. So far, around R$ 30 billion have already been paid.

“Nothing prevents those affected by the disaster from resorting to Justice, demanding compensation if they do not agree or do not want to use Renova”, said Carvalho.

However, he says his lawsuit refers specifically to the company’s decision to use tanfloc shortly after the disaster to release water for the population. Before, the presence of pollutants made consumption unfeasible, according to the lawyer.

“I try to hold them accountable [BHP, Vale e Samarco] for clandestine use [da substância] in prohibited doses in the treatment of water intended for human consumption,” he told the column. “This substance is carcinogenic, according to the WHO. Companies treat the population as if they were lab rats.”

Documents obtained by the column show, however, that there was an agreement with authorities at that time for tanfloc to be used.

Oak disagrees. He claims that, in 2015, before the said agreement, the company itself had already disclosed on its website that it was mixing the substance in water.

The lawyer says that he had been making this complaint for many years before the Judiciary and that, given the inertia of the public power, he decided to file the indemnity action.

When contacted, Samarco declined to comment.

With Diego Felix

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