Fragments of oil were found this Monday (10) on the northern beach of Ilhéus, in southern Bahia. The materials were seen in at least three locations along the coast up to Serra Grande, in the municipality of Uruçuca.
The Brazilian Navy reported on Tuesday afternoon (11) that it had sent teams to the sites to monitor the situation. The origin of the oil is still unknown.
The Environment Director of the municipality of Uruçuca, Claudia Cruz, told the report that the fragments reappeared in the region about a week ago.
“They arrive when the tide is high and stay on the sands when it ebbs. Now, larger pieces have started to appear with small mussels attached to them”, he said.
The municipality also informed that about 20 containers of ten liters each were collected, on the morning of this Tuesday (11), during a cleaning action on the beaches of Pompilho, Pés de Serra and Barra do Sargi, by the city hall.
At the end of August, the spots reappeared on the coast of Bahia. At the time, the material was found on beaches in Salvador, São Francisco do Conde, Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabrália, among others. This comes three years after the biggest environmental disaster on the Brazilian coast.
In 2019, oil slicks hit beaches in 11 states, causing damage estimated by the Federal Police at R$525 million.
The first spots were recorded on August 30 of that year, in Paraíba.
In December 2021, the Federal Police concluded the investigation and concluded that a Greek oil tanker was responsible for spilling the substance at sea.
After this episode, the oil continued to appear on the beaches of the Northeast in sporadic episodes. In June 2020, fragments of oil were found on beaches in Pernambuco and Alagoas. In August 2021, they appeared in Fernando de Noronha.
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