A wave of mud: the travel of toxic water, from Bento Rodrigues to the Brazilian Atlantic

Authors

  • Eliana Santos Junqueira Creado Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes, Vitória, ES)
  • Stefan Helmreich Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-901X.v0i69p33-51

Keywords:

Environmental crime, wave of mud, material and symbolic forces

Abstract

This article offers an anthropological examination of the aftermath of the Samarco dam disaster of November 2015. We analyze the widely used metaphor of the wave of mud to track how news, experience, and representation of toxic iron ore tailings water traveled from Bento Rodrigues down the Doce River to the coast. We draw on eyewitness testimonials, on scientific reports, on social media, on documentary films, and on a theatre production. We draw on sociological research conducted by a team at the Brazilian coast. The wave of mud image helps us understand the physical and symbolic effects of this environmental disaster and crime.

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Author Biographies

  • Eliana Santos Junqueira Creado, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (Ufes, Vitória, ES)
    Docente de Antropologia do Departamento de Ciências Sociais e coordenadora adjunta do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Sociais da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES). Participa do Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Populações Pesqueiras e Desenvolvimento no Espírito Santo (GEPPEDES).
  • Stefan Helmreich, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA)
    Professor e chefe do Programa de Antropologia do Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) e autor do premiado livro Alien Ocean: anthropological voyages in microbial seas (University of California Press, 2009).

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Published

2018-04-27

Issue

No. 69 (2018)

Section

Dossiê de Antropologia: Entreviver – desafios cosmopolíticos contemporâneos

License

 

  • Todo o conteúdo do periódico, exceto onde está identificado, está licenciado sob uma Licença Creative Commons do tipo atribuição BY-NC.

How to Cite

Creado, E. S. J., & Helmreich, S. (2018). A wave of mud: the travel of toxic water, from Bento Rodrigues to the Brazilian Atlantic. Revista Do Instituto De Estudos Brasileiros, 69, 33-51. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-901X.v0i69p33-51