Sci-Tech Information: Brazilian Police Investigating Oil Spill on Paranoá Lake
Brazilian police are investigating the cause of a 3km oil slick which dirtied a lake in the capital Braslia on Thursday. The Parano Lake is a popular beauty spot, bordered by upmarket houses, restaurants and the Braslia Yacht Club, which was affected by the leak.
TV Globo showed aerial footage of the slick spreading across the lake, while the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper said it came from a leak in the boiler at a nearby public hospital, the Hospital Regional da Asa Norte.
A team from Transpetro, the distribution arm of state oil company Petrobras, was employed to contain the leak as Braslia did not have the capacity, Estado said.
Jos© de Morais, an engineer at the Braslia Yacht Club, said teams of workers first noticed the oil in rainfall overflow pipes before it spread across the lake.
"The oil slick was on the water surface, and was grey-blue with drops of oil suspended in it," he said. "These drops of oil practically cemented the sand and painted the club wall at the water's edge."
De Morais said a similar leak had happened last year. "We are dismayed," he said. "This is a nautical club. If the lake is not in a condition to use, we are going to have enormous losses." There is also damage to boat hulls.
Police said they have opened an investigation into the leak which is being carried out by Braslia's Criminal Institute to find out causes and what environmental damage may have been caused. "With this type of crime, 100% is a result of the investigation," said Officer Marilisa da Silva, from Braslia's Civil Police environmental protection and urban order department, DEMA.
She confirmed that a similar leak in 2012 had emanated from the same hospital. "Last year a subcontracted company from the hospital was indicted for an oil leak," she said. Estado de S.Paulo said the hospital was fined in 2012 for a leak.
The Health Secretariat for the Federal District, in which Braslia is situated, said it is waiting for reports from environmental bodies before commenting on the leak.
"The Federal District Health Secretariat is waiting from reports from environmental organs, the only bodies competent to make any affirmation on the theme, to know if, in fact, the oil slick on the Parano Lake was caused by a leak whose origin was in a public health unit," it said in a statement.
Officer da Silva said the Criminal Institute has 30 days to deliver its report but that police expect it sooner. Leaks are not uncommon in this rainy period as the rainwater does run into the lake, she said.
"Today, this morning, at another point in the lake, another oil leak was found," she said. According to the Correio Braziliense newspaper in Braslia, Aldo Fernandes from Braslia's environment agency Ibram said the cleanup could take 15 years.
TV Globo showed aerial footage of the slick spreading across the lake, while the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper said it came from a leak in the boiler at a nearby public hospital, the Hospital Regional da Asa Norte.
A team from Transpetro, the distribution arm of state oil company Petrobras, was employed to contain the leak as Braslia did not have the capacity, Estado said.
Jos© de Morais, an engineer at the Braslia Yacht Club, said teams of workers first noticed the oil in rainfall overflow pipes before it spread across the lake.
"The oil slick was on the water surface, and was grey-blue with drops of oil suspended in it," he said. "These drops of oil practically cemented the sand and painted the club wall at the water's edge."
De Morais said a similar leak had happened last year. "We are dismayed," he said. "This is a nautical club. If the lake is not in a condition to use, we are going to have enormous losses." There is also damage to boat hulls.
Police said they have opened an investigation into the leak which is being carried out by Braslia's Criminal Institute to find out causes and what environmental damage may have been caused. "With this type of crime, 100% is a result of the investigation," said Officer Marilisa da Silva, from Braslia's Civil Police environmental protection and urban order department, DEMA.
She confirmed that a similar leak in 2012 had emanated from the same hospital. "Last year a subcontracted company from the hospital was indicted for an oil leak," she said. Estado de S.Paulo said the hospital was fined in 2012 for a leak.
The Health Secretariat for the Federal District, in which Braslia is situated, said it is waiting for reports from environmental bodies before commenting on the leak.
"The Federal District Health Secretariat is waiting from reports from environmental organs, the only bodies competent to make any affirmation on the theme, to know if, in fact, the oil slick on the Parano Lake was caused by a leak whose origin was in a public health unit," it said in a statement.
Officer da Silva said the Criminal Institute has 30 days to deliver its report but that police expect it sooner. Leaks are not uncommon in this rainy period as the rainwater does run into the lake, she said.
"Today, this morning, at another point in the lake, another oil leak was found," she said. According to the Correio Braziliense newspaper in Braslia, Aldo Fernandes from Braslia's environment agency Ibram said the cleanup could take 15 years.
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