Rural community in Niquelândia participates in emergency dam drills

For the third consecutive year, CBA – Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio carried out emergency drills at the Jacuba and Mosquito dams, this Thursday, 29/09. This entails an exercise involving the population in the self-rescue zone located in the rural area of Niquelândia (GO) and comprises the Emergency Action Plan (PAE). The municipal environmental office of Niquelândia-GO, André Rosa de Aguiar, was in attendance and stated that the entire process improves safety for local residents. “This initiative was extremely well organized. All residents were able to reach their muster points easily, after the sirens had gone off. The local council congratulates CBA for this exercise. We took part in the drill planning and believe that the organization of stages, from escape routes to instructing the local population to store documents” went like clockwork”, said the secretary. Lieutenant Costa e Silva of the 6^th Independent Military Fire Brigade (6^th CIBM), who participated in all editions, stressed the importance of the drill for keeping the Emergency Action Plan for dams always up-to-date: “we had the opportunity to observe all muster points and escape route signage for the population involved. Every year these residents are trained by CBA on how to act in the event of an emergency. In a real-life situation they now know how to proceed in the safest way possible.” Deigivanio Barbosa de Barros, who lives in the Self-Rescue Zone (ZAS), confirms the benefits of participating in the drill: “the instructions help us take better precautions. Without them, it would be much harder to react in the face of an emergency. This is why these drills are so crucial. CBA will always be in touch with us and this makes all the difference for our safety”, he commented. To carry out the rescue drill, the census of properties and population in the Self-Rescue Zone was updated and muster points and escape routes checked, and approved by the Fire Department. Preparatory training was also administered to local teams and residents in the dams’ direct area of influence; as well as alignment meetings with the Joint Committee, which monitors the maintenance of the Emergency Action Plan (PAE).   Dam Safety System CBA has a robust safety management system which guarantees the physical integrity of its dams. This system includes monitoring routines carried out daily, weekly and monthly and subsequently forwarded to inspection agencies; as well as independent audits conducted by an independent specialized firm with internationally proclaimed competence, examining monitoring, controls and actions and semiannual audits for general dam assessment. According to the system’s evaluation, both dams in the Niquelândia Plant have been classified monthly over the last 12 months, as satisfactory, i.e. the best assessment established by the system. According with the Post-grant monitoring and dam safety manager of the state sustainable development and environmental office (Semad), Marcelo Sales, the Jacuba and Mosquito dams are closely monitored by CBA. “Modern equipment is used with an immediate response system and round-the-clock monitoring. The drill we witnessed today was extremely well-planned, and also attended by Semad. The population living in vicinity of the dams understands the importance of taking part in these drills for their own safety. This is an example to be followed by other companies in Goiás state”, declared Sales.