Brazil Races to Avoid Oil Spill in Amazon River

2.20 p.m. ET (1920 GMT) February 7, 2000

BRASILIA  Brazilian authorities scrambled Monday to avert an environmental disaster in the Amazon jungle after a barge holding nearly 500,000 gallons of oil sunk to the bottom of the world's largest river network.
Br> Diving teams plunged into the depths of the Rio Para, in the remote jungle state of Para, to remove tanks from the vessel which sank Friday while transporting the fuel for U.S. oil giant Texaco.

"Environmental advisers are working alongside the diving teams to prevent ecological damage," said Mauricio Andres Ribeiro at Brazil's environment ministry.

The accident came just two weeks after a major oil spill in Rio de Janeiro, where a pipeline at state oil giant Petrobras' flagship refinery burst spewing 345,000 gallons of fuel into a scenic bay.

The leak destroyed local fishing industry, contaminated biological reserves and killed wildlife in the area's worst ecological disaster in 25 years.

Petrobras was fined $28 million for the accident, and officials said they have not ruled out similar sanctions in the case of the Amazon wreck.

"There will be a study on the accident's causes and damage, and if damages to the ecosystems in the area are determined, there will be a fine," Ribeiro said.

Texaco and state environmental officials have already laid down floating walls to prevent a potential spill from spreading upriver.

But Texaco's regional manager, Jose Ferreira Amin, told the press that there was virtually no risk of a spill, since the cooler temperatures at the bottom of the river have thickened the oil.

"Even if there were (a spill) there would not a problem since the oil thickens with the cold," Amin said.

Texaco has contracted Smith American Inc. and Oil Spill Response Ltd. to coordinate the clean-up operation.

Link

For Educational Use Only!

-- Henry Howfambofergilfer (howfambofergilfer@hotmail.com), February 08, 2000

Answers

Ah - That feels so much better!

-- Henry Howfambofergilfer (howfambofergilfer@hotmail.com), February 08, 2000.

Thanks for the great post... To comprehend what the above 'actually means' and to see Texaco's stellar track record, please see:

http://www.bashar.com/GSP/McSpotLight.htm Then, click on "Texaco" nav button.

However...I'm not so sure reading the above URL feels better :(

-- steve (WhoCares@nymore.Right?com), February 08, 2000.

Texaco: "Even if there were (a spill) there would not a problem since the oil thickens with the cold," Amin said.

Hmmm....then I wonder what the following "news-recap" is about:

I would like to summarize a recent news story I heard on National Public Radio concerning Texaco's oil operations in Ecuador. I'm trying to find the original report but here is the "drift" of it:

"It was reported today that one of the largest oil spills in history occurred at the headwaters of a river system in Ecuador. The damage done to the natives, who had been living there peacefully for centuries is incalculable.

The natives depended upon the river's waters for food, fishing, washing, and irrigation for their crops. The oil spill is continuing down the river and is destroying everything in it's path...affecting all communities along its banks. The children and adults, who grew up with the clean, pristine river their entire life, are no longer able to play or swim in the waters.

The fish, plant life and their crops and farms have been destroyed ...for which they depend upon for their sustenance. The adults and children have oil on their feet and bodies as they try to deal with the situation - oil sticks to anything it touches. All waterfowl and birds who drink the water are poisoned.

Texaco, in response to the disaster (which even now continues to unfold as the oil slick continues down the river) provided open pails and buckets of gasoline, placed at the front door of each hut so the fathers returning from work could clean themselves off. The children are being washed in gasoline as well, having no clean water or soap to remove the oil. Unfortunately the area has *very few* hospitals; they are now overwhelmed with burn victims coming into the emergency rooms. Over 50% of all available hospital beds are filled with burn victims, many of them children.

Even though the oil operation practices which Texaco used in Ecuador are outlawed in the United States, they are not against the law in Ecuador.

When confronted with this situation the Texaco PR spokes person said they were "outraged" at such claims - as these have been "standard practices" in foreign countries for many years. The spokesperson for Texaco was "very upset" at the accusations saying, "We did nothing that was "illegal" in that country."

================================

And that was the basic drift of the story. I hope to find the audio tape reported on National Public Radio. (help anyone?)

It was far more precise and you can get the exact details better than the above paraphrased "re-cap" version.

I think oil is a wonderful commodity and I see no reason why we should consider "Industrial Hemp" as a clean, renewable, 'environment friendly' and inexpensive energy source to provide for Human Life Support needs. I think there is little merit in considering such options and we should wait for the oil companies to do the job. When the need arises, I'm sure they will get the job done. Lay persons should not expect that "hasty changes" will be made, especially in matters which do not concern them."

Solutions/Reference:

Read the "Industrial Hemp" articles at:

http://www.bashar.com/GSP/door-sol.htm

Discussion of "Industrial Hemp" from Farmers' perspective:

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002S9J

Extended discussion: "Industrial Hemp & The Drug War" (LONG...but well worth the read)

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002PYl

-- steve (WhoCares@nymore.Right?com), February 09, 2000.