Analysis of Impacts Generated by Oil Spill on the Beaches of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil

Abstract

Considered raw material for a wide variety of products, today oil is removed from nature on a large scale. From time to time there are problems with the oil spill in the ocean. The reasons range from oil tanker accidents, hull breaches and oil rig explosions. The environmental impacts of the oil spill are widespread. The stain spreads through the sea, killing thousands of fish, birds, and corals. The losses caused by the oil spill in the Northeast Region of Brazil are incalculable and have not yet been well dimensioned by the government. The health of the population close to the northeastern coast, must be carefully analyzed before an assessment of risks based on a food and trophic chain. This work aimed to present an analysis of environmental impacts based on the Leopold matrix regarding the oil spill that hit the municipality of Cabo, Pernambuco, Brazil. The subsidies used to analyze the situation in the area were collected through information obtained in the press, in addition to technical field visits with photographic records. In general, the Leopold matrix helped in the analysis of the analyzed aspects and impacts: the fauna and flora suffered impacts that will take years or decades to be recovered in case the cleaning and conservation is carried out partially. Among the solutions for the crude oil that reached the beaches, after receiving adequate treatment, they can be used as fuel and / or alternative raw material in the cement kilns of the industries.