Panel SA: Sulfuric acid tank causes reaction in Maceio

The installation of a tank to store sulfuric acid by the French multinational company Timac in the port of Maceió has met with resistance from residents and the tourism sector.
​
The pressure is fueled by the trauma the city suffered in 2018 in the episode of the sinking of the soil, attributed to the extraction of rock salt by Braskem, which destroyed floors and cracked the walls of houses in several neighborhoods.

Last week, the sulfuric acid project took another step, which angered opponents, when the Ministry of Infrastructure approved its inclusion in Reidi, the special incentive regime.

Fernando Lima, president of the neighborhood association of Bom Parto, one of those affected by the 2018 soil sinking, says that there is a lack of information about the project and that the population is still recovering.

“The condition of construction of the terminal is very cloudy. I believe there is no room for this, it will not succeed”, says Lima.

For Alexandre Sampaio, president of the association of entrepreneurs in the Pinheiro region, which was also affected at the time, the storage of sulfuric acid is “another potential crime”.

“I think the location of this terminal is very serious. It is a process of destruction of the capital Maceió by the chemical industry”, says Sampaio. He says they are “passing the cattle”, without public consultation on the matter.

Concerned about the impacts on tourism, the president of Abih Alagoas (local association of hotels), Ricardo André Santos, says that he considers the project unfeasible and that the company should not have permission from environmental agencies to store sulfuric acid in the port, which is located close to town.

According to the administrator of the port of Maceió, Dagoberto Omena, Timac has 48 months to submit a project to use the area to environmental agencies. He claims that the port already has 25 tanks with products such as gasoline, diesel oil and alcohol, which supply the state of Alagoas and are operated by companies such as Petrobras, BR Distribuidora and Transpetro.

Omena says that the noise about the risk of explosion is not logical and that, if Timac gets the environmental clearances, the construction will be safe.

Sought by Panel SA, Timac Agro Brasil claims that it is complying with all the requirements provided for in the bidding process, including the mandatory procedures provided for obtaining the proper installation and operation licenses from the competent bodies.

with Mariana Grazini e Andressa Motter