Tourism Goes on Alert With Oil Spill in Dream Beaches in the Northeast of Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With a not known cause so far, a crude oil spill compromises more than 1,500 kilometers of the Northeast coast.

The list of places affected by the chemical substance does not stop growing and this Thursday, September 26th, was already spreading through at least 105 beaches, and 99 points in 48 locations in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, and Sergipe.

The first spots were identified on September 2nd. Since then, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the Brazilian Navy have been investigating the situation. So far, the consensus of the environmental agencies is that the problem was caused by a vessel on the high seas, but the source of the leak was not located.

According to the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), the substance is a hydrocarbon, popularly known as tar. The agency is collecting samples to identify the persons responsible for the leak.

The Navy sent material to the Institute of Sea Studies Almirante Paulo Moreira, in Rio de Janeiro, but there were no results until this Thursday.

For Professor Mônica Costa, of the Department of Oceanography of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), the leak does not seem to be very old, because of the consistency of the tar.

“By proportion, it looks like a big accident, with thousands of kilometers and does not have the character of tank washing, it looks like an accident with transport or production,” said the UFPE professor. “We will live with the environmental loss for decades, because the fight against pollution at sea has to be helped quickly, not in weeks or days.”

The researcher explained that the cleaning of the oil is different in each affected area and that there is technology to reduce the problem. “But there is no way to go back to the way it was. The person who committed this will be responsible for decades and decades of damage,” said Monica.

Eight turtles and one bird affected by the oil spill were found, but most were dead and could not be attended to by the technicians. Ibama confirms that, for the time being, there is no contamination of fish and crustaceans along the Northeastern coast.

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The oil stains of the Northeast, such as Praia do Futuro, in Ceará, and Maragogi, in Alagoas, leaves the region’s tourism sector on alert. “How will you attract visitors to a region that is being affected by a chemical substance?” said Elzário Pereira, president of the Brazilian Association of Tourism Professionals and Tourists.

“The tourist is mainly attracted by the coast of the Northeast. Despite other attractions, the sun and the beach are the strongest. Certainly, there will be travel cancellations,” he said.

The Institute of Sustainable Development and Environment of Rio Grande do Norte (Idema) recommended that the cleaning of the spill be made with specific tools to avoid direct contact with beachgoers.

The measure is “preventive against irritation and allergic processes,” says the document about tar, which causes adverse reactions in the body, especially on the surface of the hand, eyes, and mouth.

For teacher Mônica Costa, the best solution is to keep away from the byproduct, isolating the beaches until they get more complex information about the substance. To preserve people’s lives and health, it is important not to swim, fish or eat on the affected beaches,” she says.

Petrobras ruled out the possibility that the substance was produced or marketed by the company, but said it is cooperating to clean up the beaches. In a statement, Ibama said that more than 100 people are working cleaning up the beaches during the week.