The State Environmental Institute (INEA), an environmental agency linked to the government of Rio de Janeiro, considers that the large fire which reached this Saturday (8) a factory of oils and lubricants brings risk of oil leakage and other waste in Guanabara Bay. Given this possibility, a team was highlighted to evaluate any impacts.
“Together with the Port Captaincy, the government has activated the Guanabara Bay Area Plan, a strategy aimed at controlling and mitigating environmental damage. In addition, the agency will determine the company’s causes and responses to the fire and apply the Appropriate sanctions, “says a statement issued by the state.
Factory fire generates a risk of leakage in Guanabara Bay. Photo: Rafael Wallace/Government of Rio de Janeiro/Disclosure
The factory is located on Governador Island, on the banks of Guanabara Bay. The fire began yesterday morning and quickly gained great proportions. Given the scenario, the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro, announced the creation of an emergency office composed of different organs to deal with the situation. The Military Police were mobilized to ensure safety in the surroundings and the Civil Police opened an investigation into the causes of the fire.
At about 11am, the Fire Department published on its social networks that more than 100 military firefighters and state civil defense agents of 20 different units had been sent to the scene and that the situation was already controlled, without risk of propagation. But activities focused on cooling and protection of uninformed areas were still underway on Sunday morning (9).
Despite the rapid action of firefighters, on Saturday night (8), several residents of the region used social networks denouncing the discomfort caused by the episode. There was also sharing of images of the thick black smoke, which could be spotted at a distance and various angles.
MOOVE, the company responsible for the factory, issued a statement stating that the fire occurred in the factory’s productive area, without reaching the area where storage tanks are. “All necessary security protocols are being applied,” the text adds. There were no injuries. The factory was empty, as there were no operations over the weekend.
