GEO Brasil - UNEP

Criciúma, Imbituba and Tubarão present the most serious
pictures of water pollution, associated to the presence of
important sources of chemical and organic pollution, such
as hog raising, agribusiness (wine, coal, flour, oil, leather,
pottery, food and fishery, and fertiliser) and domestic sewage
Coal extraction and processing is the main source of
pollution, and it directly affects the Tubarão river waters,
placing this system among the three most polluted in the
State of Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina, 1997, Sanchez et al
1998)
7 Oil Extraction
Oil and gas extraction fields are spread all over the Brazilian
coast, from the State of Rio Grande do Norte down to Paraná,
but most production, transport and stocking activities are
concentrated in the southeastern region The Campos Bay,
on Rio de Janeiro’s continental platform, accounts for about
70 percent of the country’s oil production, which is loaded
onto oil tankers through oil pipelines
products There are few accidents involving the 656
maritime oil wells, 64 fixed platforms and 10 floating
systems, especially when compared to the number of
incidents that have taken place while loading and unloading
oil and its products at the nine terminals operated by
Petrobrás in Brazil Among the factors that contribute to
increasing the risk of accidents, one can certainly mention
the ageing of the world’s fleet (about 3,000 ships have been
in use for over 20 years), and the poor professional training
given to the crew In spite of numerous laws protecting the
marine environment, many companies and outfitters
operating in that sector prioritise immediate profits and act
irresponsibly towards the environment
Also, while washing their tanks at high sea, the ships
discharge huge quantities of oil into the ocean, frequently
generating so-called black tides Although this kind of
operation is prohibited, those who choose to do it are
protected by the fact that it is very difficult to thoroughly
inspect the whole coast
the state of the environment in Brazil
Inaugurated in 1969 in São Sebastiao, in the State of São
Paulo, Petrobrás’s Almirante Barroso Maritime Terminal
(TEBAR- Terminal Marítimo Almirante Barroso) is
subordinated to “Central and Southern Ducts and Terminals”
(DTCS - Ductos e Terminais do Centro Sul) It is the most
important maritime terminal in Brazil, transporting over 60
percent of all oil and oil products in the country In 2000, 678
ships operated at TEBAR (total delivery = 442 million m³),
an absolute record of operations at that unit and a clear
indication of the growth of oil activities in Brazil
Oil extraction along the Brazilian coast constitutes, at the
moment, one of the greatest pressures on the country’s
coastal and marine environments The end of Petrobrás’s
prospecting monopoly enabled an unprecedented increase
in terms of explored areas and practically put the whole
Brazilian coast at auction However, the environmental costs
associated to these activities have not been properly
considered or evaluated by Brazilian environmental
agencies For example, the effect of seismic activities on
fishery resources and marine ecosystems has not been
studied in depth From the environmental point of view,
though, actions related to seismic studies, prospecting and
extraction are not the most dangerous parts of the oil
industry In fact, environmental problems are usually caused
by transport, stocking, refinery and consumption of oil
8 Oil Pollution
The environmental impact caused by oil leaks along the
Brazilian coast has been a permanent threat to the integrity
of coastal and marine ecosystems With the increase of oil
production, many accidental oil spills and leaks were
reported during low- and medium-risk routine operations
(191 accidents between 1974 and 1994, and 18 from 1995 to
1998), contributing to the chronic pollution of nearby areas
Most of these accidents were caused by ships In the case
of small-scale leaks (< 1m³), the affected areas are those
near the origin of the spill On the other hand, large-scale
accidents (>1000m³) tend to spread all over the coast of the
State of São Paulo up to the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro
What is most worrying in this picture is the fact that oil
accidents have been assuming catastrophic proportions
Between 1975 and 1992, for instance, only two big accidents
involving oil spills took place: in 1975, a cargo ship spilt
6,000 tonnes of oil in the Guanabara Bay and, in 1983, 3
million litres leaked out of the Bertioga pipelines, in the
State of São Paulo Since then, though, 35 major leaks were
reported all over Brazil, affecting important rivers or the sea
itself, and also polluting several beaches and causing serious
environmental damages
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