1997 Guanabara Bay oil spill

Last updated March 03, 2019

The 1997 Guanabara Bay oil spill was one of three major oil spills in Guanabara Bay in Brazil. It leaked from the oil refinery at Duque de Caxias (REDUC) operated by Petrobras.

Oil spill Release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil.

Guanabara Bay is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores. Guanabara Bay is the second largest bay in area in Brazil, at 412 square kilometres (159 sq mi), with a perimeter of 143 kilometres (89 mi).

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 208 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous. Brazil borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populated city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states, the Federal District, and the 5,570 municipalities. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world.

Petrobras estimated that a leaking pipeline released 600,000 liters (160,000 US gal) of oil into the bay, but according to Sindipetro - the petroleum industry's union - it was 2,000,000 liters (530,000 US gal) of oil that had been spilled.^[1] The incident also had a large damaging effect on marine life in the ocean; as well as, other existing areas surrounding the bay area. Many fish suffered tragic deaths as they were washed up on the shore dead or covered in oil. In addition, the fishing industry suffered a great downfall and local fishermen were unable to work or fish in the bay.

Marine life, or sea life or ocean life, is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of the sea or ocean, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. Marine organisms produce oxygen. Shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life, and some marine organisms even help create new land.

An ocean is a body of water that composes much of a planet's hydrosphere. On Earth, an ocean is one of the major conventional divisions of the World Ocean. These are, in descending order by area, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Arctic Oceans. The word "ocean" is often used interchangeably with "sea" in American English. Strictly speaking, a sea is a body of water partly or fully enclosed by land, though "the sea" refers also to the oceans.

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, and the harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or as input factors in other industrial processes. Directly or indirectly, the livelihood of over 500 million people in developing countries depends on fisheries and aquaculture.

Effects

Following the oil spill there were many negative after effects on the Brazilian fishermen, on the marine life and the environment. The fishing industry suffered tremendously as survival for the marine animals grew more difficult. Marine animals such as, the fish and crabs were unable to get oxygen and as a result were not able to survive.^[2] In addition, the aquatic plant life had also begun to die off and become non existent due to the oil resting on the surface of the water. This resulted in a loss of food for the marine animals as they had no aquatic plants to feed upon.^[2] The fishermen - who relied heavily on fishing in the bay for their own survival - were faced with tragic times, as it became more difficult to catch fish. This resulted in a downfall in the demand for fishermen and lead to a loss of employment for such individuals.

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses the interaction of all living species, climate, weather and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished as components:

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen), usually entirely hidden under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of pincers. Many other animals with similar names – such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, horseshoe crabs, and crab lice – are not true crabs.

Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes. A macrophyte is an aquatic plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or floating, and includes helophytes. In lakes and rivers macrophytes provide cover for fish and substrate for aquatic invertebrates, produce oxygen, and act as food for some fish and wildlife.

Cleanup costs

The cost of the clean-up exceeded just monetary value as it also affected the individuals that relied on the welfare of the bay. The Petrobras refinery took all responsibility and vowed to execute a cleanup process. In addition to the Guanabara Bay, the contaminated areas included the beaches, and the surrounding areas leading to the beaches such as, the pathways and tunnels. The company experienced great losses in the cleaning up process as they had to compensate for damages and were fined heavily by the Brazilian government. ^[1]

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. — Petrobras, more commonly known as simply Petrobras, is a semi-public Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name translates to Brazilian Petroleum Corporation — Petrobras.

A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles. The particles can also be biological in origin, such as mollusc shells or coralline algae.

A footpath is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, cycles, and horses. They can be found in a wide variety of places, from the centre of cities, to farmland, to mountain ridges. Urban footpaths are usually paved, may have steps, and can be called alleys, lanes, steps, etc.

Economic impact

The oil spill had a dangerous impact on the Brazilian society and the overall Brazilian economy. There was a drastic decrease in the number of fish species living in the bay after the spill, because the bay no longer remained a habitable environment. Almost 4000 fishermen - more than half - that had previously been employed to fish at the Guanabara Bay had to resort to alternative methods of income and working odd jobs to support their families.^[3] It was unlikely that after the spill one would be able to catch more than 10 kilos of fish, where in comparison to before the spill, the average of catching fish was almost 100 kilos. ^[3] In addition, the quality of the fish from the bay area had also been an issue as many buyers claimed that the quality of the fish had decreased because it was now contaminated. As a result, the fish had been valued less and the prices had been reduced to about half. ^[3]

The Economy of Brazil is the world's eighth largest economy by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. The Brazilian economy is characterized by a mixed economy that relies on import substitution to achieve economic growth. Brazil has an estimated US$21.8 trillion worth of natural resources which includes vast amounts of gold, uranium, iron, and timber.

The kilogram or kilogramme is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI). Until 20 May 2019, it remains defined by a platinum alloy cylinder, the International Prototype Kilogram, manufactured in 1889, and carefully stored in Saint-Cloud, a suburb of Paris. After 20 May, it will be defined in terms of fundamental physical constants.

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The Guanabara Bay oil spill, one of three major spills in the bay, occurred in January 2000 in Brazil when a leaking pipeline released 1,300,000 litres (340,000 US gal) of oil into Guanabara Bay. It leaked from the oil refinery at Duque de Caxias (REDUC) operated by Petrobras. Petrobas the company at the center of the oil spill immediately moved into gear and hired a cleanup crew to assess the damages and start the process to cleaning up the affected areas. This catastrophic accident had a damaging effect on marine life in the ocean, fishes, as well as, other existing areas surrounding the bay area. Many fishes were washing up on the shore dead or covered in oil. The fishing industry took a nose dive and the fishermen's livelihood was gravely affected. As a matter of fact, the fishing industry was brought to a halt giving rise to economic downfall. There was astronomical cost to be incurred with the clean-up process and the stakeholders were in a state of growing panic.Large areas of mangrove forests were killed and had not grown back ten years later. The tucuxi dolphin species inhabit the bay but were able to avoid the primary effects of the oil spill.

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References

↑ Taam, Mauricio (undated). "The Guanabara Bay Oil Spill Incident – “The Brazilian Exxon Valdez” An Institutional Perspective". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
↑ International Environment Reporter: Current Report. Washington: Bureau of National Affairs,1978. Print. Perry, Chris, and Kevin Taylor. Environmental Sedimentology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub,m 2007. Print.
↑ "Case study: An oil stained legacy - Greenpeace do Brasil versus Petrobras S.A." in Tulder, Rob Van; Zwart, Alex Van Der (2006-01-20). International Business-Society Management: Linking Corporate Responsibility And Globalization. Routledge. ISBN 9780415342414. Retrieved 6 June 2012.

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[1] Taam, Mauricio (undated). "The Guanabara Bay Oil Spill Incident – “The Brazilian Exxon Valdez” An Institutional Perspective". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 5 June 2012.

[2] International Environment Reporter: Current Report. Washington: Bureau of National Affairs,1978. Print. Perry, Chris, and Kevin Taylor. Environmental Sedimentology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub,m 2007. Print.

[3] "Case study: An oil stained legacy - Greenpeace do Brasil versus Petrobras S.A." in Tulder, Rob Van; Zwart, Alex Van Der (2006-01-20). International Business-Society Management: Linking Corporate Responsibility And Globalization. Routledge. ISBN 9780415342414. Retrieved 6 June 2012.