Vale confirms arsenic found in water days after Brazil dam burst

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Toxic materials, such as arsenic, were found in the water of the Rio Doce river days after a dam burst at a mine in Brazil earlier this month, an executive for Vale, the co-owner of the mine operator, confirmed on Friday.

Vania Somavilla, sustainability chief at Vale, cited a report by the Institute for Water Management in Minas Gerais, which found levels of arsenic above legal limits.

Speaking at a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, she said the material had not been in the mining waste stored in the dam but might have been flushed into the river from the surrounding area by the mud flow. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)