5️⃣ reasons for the largest urban disaster caused by #mining in Brazil 📍 In the last few days, 5 neighborhoods in #Maceió #Alagoas in #northeastBrazil have been suffering the consequences of salt ⚒ exploitation by #Braskem. We have selected 5️⃣ factors that make this environmental and social crime difficult to solve, causing so many impacts and having such a large scale! 1️⃣ Mining methods used water to dissolve salt through wells, causing water infiltration into neighboring rocks and destabilization of the rock mass. 2️⃣ Dissolution of evaporitic rocks (salt dome) continues even after the wells are closed, causing expansion of cavities and collapse of upper layers. 3️⃣ The exploited layers are located in fault zones, i.e., areas of lithological fragility where water can infiltrate and where movements between rock blocks occur. 4️⃣ Recharge of the water table and aquifer in permeable rocks above the exploitation areas (700 m deep) puts "weight" on the lower layers of salt and clay. 5️⃣ The urban environment is literally the icing on the cake. Soil impermeabilization and alteration of the natural drainage in the area contribute to ground subsidence. We need to understand geology for a safer society and more sustainable mining 💡
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