After hitting beaches in Pernambuco over the weekend, pieces of oil are already reaching the coast of Paraíba.
According to information from Comeg (State Coastal Management Commission), so far, oil acorns have already been spotted on Penha beach, in João Pessoa, and in the municipality of Pitimbu, a point where the state borders Pernambuco.
There are also reports of pieces of material on the beaches of Jacarapé, in João Pessoa, and of Tambaba, in the city of Conde.
The source of the oil found is not yet known, which has already been collected and sent for analysis at the Laboratory of Organic Compounds in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems at UFPE (Federal University of Pernambuco).
IBAMA has planned a coastal flyover to assess the situation.
The material reappears in the region three years after the biggest environmental disaster on the Brazilian coast. More than a thousand localities, in 11 states, in 2,000 km of extension, were affected by the leak of the Greek-flagged vessel NM Bouboulina.
At the time, in 2019, oil slicks also began to appear at the end of August and continued to affect especially the Northeast until 2020.
According to the PF (Federal Police), the damage caused by the leak reached R$ 525.3 million. And the damage should be even greater considering that the estimate is a “minimum value based on economic methodologies of replacement cost of ecosystem services and public expenditures”, according to a report by the corporation.
It is not the first time that pieces of oil have resurfaced on the northeast coast after the environmental tragedy of 2019. Fragments, from time to time, are found. In June 2020, the oil was found on beaches in Pernambuco and Alagoas. In August 2021, in Fernando de Noronha.
