RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro said yesterday, November 23rd, that there is no way of knowing how much oil has been spilled near the Brazilian coast. Yesterday, the country’s authorities reported that oil fragments had reached the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro.
According to the president, one must be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
“We would very much like to identify who has committed this criminal act. We don’t know how much oil there is at sea. In the worst-case scenario, if it was an oil tanker and it has dumped all its cargo into the sea, less than ten percent has reached our coast so far. Let us prepare for the worst. We hope to God that this does not happen,” the president said during an event in Vila Militar in Rio de Janeiro.
In a note released on Saturday, the (GAA) Monitoring and Evaluation Group, formed by the Navy, National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and IBAMA – Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources confirmed that on Friday, November 22nd, approximately 300 grams of small oil fragments were detected and removed at Grussaí Beach, in São João da Barra-RJ.
According to the statement, the material was analyzed by the Almirante Paulo Moreira Sea Study Institute (IEAPM) and confirmed it as compatible with the oil found on the Northeastern coast and Espírito Santo. A group of Navy military personnel is already on-site monitoring and cleaning. IBAMA employees joined the team yesterday.