Petroleum is an important fossil fuel, it is originated from the decomposition of organic matter under specific conditions of pressure and temperature, being used widely in the world. Petroleum is used to make products we use to fuel airplanes, cars, trucks, to heat homes such as medicines and plastics.1  

Although it is a natural product, originated from the transformation of organic materials, it exists only at great depths, having minimum contact with the terrestrial, fluvial or maritime environment. It is insoluble in water and has a corrosive poisonous mixture with effects that are difficult to combat.

Every oil spill, regardless of its proportion, is considered an environmental catastrophe. Experts emphasize that the effects of those accidents can last for twenty years or more and the recovery is long and difficult even with human help. Contact with crude oil has very serious effects, especially on plants and animals. 

In Brazil, the last major spill occurred in 2000, when 1.3 million liters of crude oil were released into the waters of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro.

To minimize the effects of accidents and spills, there are several 

government initiatives in Brazil. The main one is Recupetro (Cooperative Network in the Recovery of Areas Contaminated by Petroleum Activities). Recupetro brings together 13 Cooperative Research Networks for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector in the North and Northeast regions. The goal is to contribute with technological advances to assist in the environmental impacts caused by the activity of the oil industry, and the network proposes to carry out the training and qualification of specialized human resources to manage environmental problems caused by the activities of exploration, production, refining, and transportation of oil and its derivatives in the regions of the country where these activities take place.

references

[1] https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/oil-and-the-environment.php

https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/poluicao-por-derramamento-petroleo.htm