CONTINGENCY AND REMEDIATION OF OIL SPILLS IN THE COASTAL ZONE OF BRAZIL: CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

The challenges associated with oil spills at sea have been many, especially in a country characterized by an extensive coastal strip, as is the case of Brazil, whose Coastal Zone extends, in its terrestrial portion, for more than 8,500 km, covering 17 states and more than four hundred municipalities, distributed from the equatorial North to the temperate South of the country. In this context, it is urgent to have a well-planned action, in which all agencies cooperate with each other in order to allow an immediate and coordinated response action. Under the aegis of such considerations, the present work aims to characterize and analyze the main actions and technologies of contingency and remediation based on the best practices acquired after the last oil spill in the country, which occurred on the Brazilian coast, in 2019. The methodological route for this was based on a bibliographic review based on high-impact scientific publications and also on documentary research to obtain primary and secondary data on accidents that generate oil spills. From the development of this study, it was possible to infer that, in general, there is a notorious lack of preparation of the authorities regarding prevention and mitigation actions, making it urgent to train technical staff specialized in emergency management, and this in favor of greater efficiency of the offshore and coastal contingency structure. Conclusively, this study points to the need to implement a much more articulated communication between the spheres of public power and civil society for the purpose of coordination and integration in case of major oil accidents causing oil spills.