Editorial: Oil Spill Prevention and Response: Introductory National, International, and Comparative Perspectives (original) (raw)
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Oil Spill on Brazilian Coast and the Lack of Answers
Oceanography & Fisheries Open Access Journal (OFOAJ), 2020
Recently the Brazilian coast has been suffering from contamination by crude oil. The oil has already reached the entire northeast region of Brazil and advances to part of the southeast. The source of this crude oil remains unknown yet, and to date, effective action has focused on the manual gathering of oil fragments that reach the beaches, mostly done by volunteers who are risking their lives handling the crude oil without appropriate personal protective equipment. The compounds of this crude oil are highly toxic and carcinogenic, and can cause dermatitis, acute intoxication and eventual reproductive difficulties, as well as have deleterious effects on marine organisms and compromise the entire food chain. In addition to the environmental aspects, the impacts reach the socioeconomic spheres, since there is a whole population that depends directly or indirectly on tourism, gastronomy and artisanal fisheries. This leak is the largest environmental accident in the country, where the major concern, now, is the effects that were or will be caused on the Brazilian marine and coastal ecosystems, and of course the population health. Periodic surveys and monitoring of beaches, animals and populations in the affected regions are extremely necessary actions, which need prioritization.
The Impact of Oil Spills on the Environment and Surrounding Communities: Case of Spain and Brazil
MSA-Management Sciences Journal, 2022
Marine oil spills have been of tremendous concern due to their adverse impact on economic and ecological systems. Major oil spills triggered worldwide consciousness of marine spill response. In past decades, significant advances have been made in diverse aspects including prevention and preparedness, spill response and cleanup options, modelling of marine oil spills, and response decision support. Risk aversion was always a problem in the oil and gas business, but it has never been more serious. However, challenges remain particularly associated with cold and harsh environmental conditions. The research paper will explore how oil spills influence the environment and surrounding communities, as well as how this catastrophic issue causes the death of most marine species and threatens the sustainability of countries, with a focus on the Prestige and Northeast Brazil oil spills. The paper urges more organizations is needed to follow accessible standards to improve their operating performance and overcome technical uncertainty. Oil and gas companies collaborate with their peers to build transparent platforms that guarantee that automated production projects can be carried out at low cost and with relatively little interruption.
The most extensive oil spill registered in tropical oceans (Brazil): the balance sheet of a disaster
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
This article presents a synthesis of information about the massive oil spill in Brazil (2019/2020). The event affected 11 states; however, the majority of the oil residue was collected (~ 5380 tons) near nine states (99.8%) in northeastern Brazil. This spill was not the largest in volume (between 5000 m 3 and 12,000 m 3) recorded in tropical oceans, but it was the most extensive (2890 km). This spill develops an overwashed tar that remains mostly in the undersurface drift (non-floating oil plume) below 17 m of depth while on the continental shelf. Ten ecosystems were impacted, with potentially more severe effects in mangroves and seagrasses. Certain negative effects are still understudied, such as effects on tropical reefs and rhodolith beds. A total of 57 protected areas in seven management categories were affected, most of which (60%) were characterized as multiple-use regions. The spill affected at least 34 threatened species, with impacts detected on plankton and benthic communities. Acute impacts were reported on echinoderms, coral symbionts, polychaetes, and sponges with evidence of oil ingestion. Socioeconomic impacts were detected in food security, public health, lodging, gender equality, tourism, and fishing, with reduced sales, prices, tourist attractiveness, gross domestic product, and employment. Moreover, chemical contamination was detected in some states by toxic metals (Hg, As, Cd, Pb, and Zn) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (acenaphthalene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene, and phenanthrene). This summary aims to aid in the design of science-based strategies to understand the impacts and develop strategies for the most extensive spill observed in tropical oceans.
Analysis of Impacts Generated by Oil Spill on the Beaches of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil
2021
Considered raw material for a wide variety of products, today oil is removed from nature on a large scale. From time to time there are problems with the oil spill in the ocean. The reasons range from oil tanker accidents, hull breaches and oil rig explosions. The environmental impacts of the oil spill are widespread. The stain spreads through the sea, killing thousands of fish, birds, and corals. The losses caused by the oil spill in the Northeast Region of Brazil are incalculable and have not yet been well dimensioned by the government. The health of the population close to the northeastern coast, must be carefully analyzed before an assessment of risks based on a food and trophic chain. This work aimed to present an analysis of environmental impacts based on the Leopold matrix regarding the oil spill that hit the municipality of Cabo, Pernambuco, Brazil. The subsidies used to analyze the situation in the area were collected through information obtained in the press, in addition to technical field visits with photographic records. In general, the Leopold matrix helped in the analysis of the analyzed aspects and impacts: the fauna and flora suffered impacts that will take years or decades to be recovered in case the cleaning and conservation is carried out partially. Among the solutions for the crude oil that reached the beaches, after receiving adequate treatment, they can be used as fuel and / or alternative raw material in the cement kilns of the industries.
A sustainable approach to controlling oil spills
Journal of Environmental Management, 2012
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The fate of an oil spill in São Sebastião channel: a case study
Brazilian Journal of Oceanography, 2013
and 2 700 tons of crude oil leaked into the São Sebastião Channel, affecting several neighboring areas. A program for the monitoring of hydrocarbons in sediments, using the gas chromatography / flame ionization detector methodology, was being undertaken in the area at the time. The data obtained were compared to those of samples collected after the accident to determine the fate of the oil spilled and ascertain its contribution to the environment. The earlier results showed that hydrocarbons were introduced from two different sources: biogenic, mainly from terrestrial plants, and anthropogenic, as oil, in sewage and from shipping. The later data indicated that the site closest to the pipeline rupture had been the most affected. Following that, two stations located at the north entrance of the channel presented the highest n-alkane concentrations, suggesting that the northeasterly wind-driven currents had carried the oil northward. Seven months later, one of these stations, a high-energy site, showed some signs of recovery, but this process was not observed at the other, which seemed to be a low-energy site. In conclusion, the data showed that the aliphatic hydrocarbon analyses were powerful tools for the assessment of the fate of the oil spill and that the northern part of the São Sebastião Channel is more subject to the effects of oil spills.
Oil Spill in Brazil—Analysis of Vulnerabilities and Socio-Environmental Conflicts
BioChem
The 2019 oil spill was considered the largest environmental disaster in the Brazilian Northeastern coast. It was associated with mostly ineffective government actions, thus intensifying historical vulnerabilities faced by local populations. We aimed to analyze the environmental conflicts and injustices and the socio-environmental, economic, and health vulnerabilities arising from the oil spill, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting artisanal fishing communities of the Northeastern coast. A document-based, qualitative, cross-sectional research was carried out between September 2019 and October 2022, in open access secondary databases, and using field diaries from research of the Environmental Health and Work Laboratory (LASAT) of the Aggeu Magalhães Institute of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. The disaster caused situations of injustice and environmental conflicts that had negative repercussions in the territories with socioeconomic impacts, on the environment, and on the health ...
Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (1678-2690), 2022
In 2019, an oil spill of unprecedented dimensions and unknown source reached the Brazilian coast. Such incident, which occurred somewhere in the ocean and was detected only when the fi rst oil patches reached the beaches in the northeastern region, is recognized as one of the most serious oil spills in the country. From the chromatographic analysis of the oily residues using n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and oil biomarkers, it was possible to characterize their coverage. The results confi rmed that an oil of the same specifi cation reached a length of coastline higher than 3,000 kilometers. However, were also found oily residues that did not match with the product involved in that incident, evidencing the occurrence of different discharges. This study documents the extension of the affected coastline during the incident and assesses the possible origin of such different oils from their geochemical characteristics by selecting 21 samples from more than 300 samples previously collected and analyzed during the response actions. The unexpected occurrence of these residues suggest chronic events. The results highlighted that unrelated oily residues were found even in a region far from the coast, indicating that discharges of oil in the open sea occur more regularly than initially expected.
MAIN SPILLS OF DIESEL OIL AND FUEL OILS IN MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS IN BRAZIL, FROM 1975 TO 2022 (Atena Editora), 2022
Oil spills in coastal and marine environments have been frequent from the second half of the 20th century to the first decades of the 21st century, resulting in varied socio-environmental impacts on mangrove ecosystems, estuaries and beaches. Port areas, marinas, and areas where the supply and maintenance of automotive, road, rail and boat vehicles are carried out, in addition to fuel distribution stations, are also prone to leaks, causing percolation of oil residue and long-term bioaccumulation. term, even in small quantities.On the other hand, large spills result in more persistent damage to affected ecosystems. In some regions, mangroves share space with port areas, refineries and pipelines, being exposed to leaks and accidents, affecting their inestimable environmental, economic and ecological importance.We sought to identify the main spills that occurred with diesel oil and fuel oils, which reached estuaries and mangroves on the Brazilian coast between the years 1975 to 2022 and to discuss the ecotoxicological and ecophysiological evidence of the presence of diesel oil in these ecosystems. Some accidents and spills with crude oil were also included only in the temporal analysis, given their significant relevance both in terms of volume spilled and in terms of extension of the affected coastal zone.Data, metadata and document analysis were used, including scientific articles, technical reports from public or private companies in the environment, sanitation, academic reports and from government public managers, academic dissertations, legal processes, among others. The results showed that diesel oil accidents are among the most frequent in chemical and petrochemical waterway terminals and caused severe damage to mangroves, other coastal ecosystems and the human population.