Samarco sensors gave warnings well before Brazil damburst – Globo

Brazilian iron-ore miner Samarco Mineração SA received serious danger warnings from ground sensors in 2014 and 2015, months before a deadly and environmentally destructive burst of a tailings dam, Globo TV's Fantastico newsmagazine said on Sunday. The alerts, from probes driven deep into the dam's structure to detect ground moisture and stability, reached as high as "emergency" levels, Fantastico said, citing Samarco-commissioned engineering studies provided to prosecutors investigating the case. The damburst is considered by many to be the worst environmental disaster in Brazil's history.