This Saturday, Oct/17, around 7,770 residents from 27 neighborhoods in and around Itabira (MG) participated in an emergency drill simulation of mining dams, which correspond to 40.9% of expected attendance. Employees of the Conceição mine, who were working at the time, also attended the training.

The exercise was preventive and was carried out by the State and Municipal Civil Defenses, Itabira Local Government and Vale, with the support of the Civil and Military Police and the Military Fire Department. Vale participated in the exercise with more than 4,000 employees, including its own and third parties, and provided all logistical support to the competent bodies, in addition to receiving and guiding the population at the meeting points.

The objective of the exercise was to guide the resident population in these areas on how to proceed in case of a dam emergency. The training lasted one hour, from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. On the occasion, 96 meeting points were installed in safe areas of the municipality.

The simulation is part of the Mining Dams Emergency Action Plan (PAEBM) and the Itabira Contingency and Evacuation Plan, the latter prepared by a multidisciplinary team consisting of representatives of the State and Municipal Civil Defenses, Itabira local government, Vale, Military and Civil Police, Military Fire Service and Public Prosecution Service.

Dam Alert Application

During the simulation, the first version of the "Dam Alert" application was tested. The program was developed by Vale in partnership with the State Civil Defense and advises on escape routes, meeting points and safe places. Improvement points will be considered for the second version of the app.