Challenges in Implementing DVI Best Practice Guidelines Due to the Brumadinho Disaster

The broke of a tailings dam from Vale S.A. destroyed a gigantic area killing 270 persons in Brumadinho/Brazil. Organizing activities after a mass disaster is a complex process that requires the involvement of many people and resources in the laboratory. To DNA identification of the victims, a daunting work had to be made by DNA laboratory staff in a collaborative effort with many partners. Efforts to implement good practice guidelines in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have revealed several important aspects that need to change in the forensic DNA laboratory. This article highlights the challenges of implementing DVI best practice guidelines in resource-poor settings, but with professionals from different sectors engaged in the same goal of briefly identifying victims and helping families and society.