Environmental and Social Impacts of Urban and Rural Water areas intercepting the BR 277 (Km 493 to 730) Concerning the Transport of Hazardous Products

Abstract

The BR-277 is one of the main routes for several products, including hazardous products, causing great concern due to the problems they can cause to the population and the environment in case of an accident. The section of the highway that connects Guaraniaçu to Foz do Iguaçu is in an essential hydrographic region with three main watersheds for the state: the Piquiri, Lower Iguazu and Paraná 3 basins. The study was a survey from 2013 to 2017 of traffic and accidents involving the transportation of hazardous products in 209 kilometers, in the stretch from km 493 to 730 of BR-277 (Guaraniaçu to Foz do Iguaçu), highlighting the socio-environmental impacts to the urban and rural sources that they can cause in the event of accidents. The data was qualitatively analyzed and presented in graphs. The road administrators provided the traffic data, classes, and collisions with hazardous products. The percent of hazardous cargoes was 27 in 2013; 21 in 2014; 15 in 2015; 19 in 2016; and 18 in 2017 — Summing 27501 hazardous cargos for the period. The most transported products were flammable liquids, gases, hazardous, and corrosive substances. There were nine accidents with dangerous products in the stretch, the km 584 showed the highest accident record, with 414 accidents in 5 years. Due to high road haulage, traffic, and the number of accidents in the region, preventive and mitigating measures must be taken. Such as accident risk training for public and private managers and employees working with this type of transportation and reinforcement of the signaling of critical and water source areas.