Environmental disaster in the northeast coast of Brazil: Forensic geochemistry in the identification of the source of the oily material

Olívia M C de Oliveira; Antônio F de S Queiroz; José R Cerqueira; Sarah A R Soares; Karina S Garcia; Aristides Pavani Filho; Maria de L da S Rosa; Caroline M Suzart; Liliane de L Pinheiro; Ícaro T A Moreira

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111597

Environmental disaster in the northeast coast of Brazil: Forensic geochemistry in the identification of the source of the oily material

Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Nov:160:111597. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111597. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Affiliations

¹ Geoscience Institute, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Street Barão de Jeremoabo, s/n, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, Brazil; LEPETRO, Geoscience Institute, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Street Barão de Jeremoabo, s/n, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, Brazil.
² LEPETRO, Geoscience Institute, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Street Barão de Jeremoabo, s/n, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, Brazil.
³ Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation - MCTI, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
⁴ Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), Department of Geology, Av. Marechal Rondon, s/n Jardim Rosa Elze, Aracaju, SE, Brazil.
⁵ LEPETRO, Geoscience Institute, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Street Barão de Jeremoabo, s/n, 40170-290 Salvador, BA, Brazil; Department of Environmental Engineering, Polytechnic School, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Street Prof. Aristídes Novis, 2, Federação, 40170290 Salvador, BA, Brazil. Electronic address: icarotam@ufba.br.

PMID: 32896715
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111597

Abstract

The characterization of petroleum or its products spilled in the environment in relation to its source rocks is an important tool to assist in the resolution of issues of environmental impact and legal responsibility since it clarifies the possible region or the producing country of that type of petroleum. This article analyzes the application of analytical techniques for petroleum geochemistry to identify the type and origin of oily material collected from beaches in Northeast Brazil in 2019. Samples of the oily material collected on the beaches in the states of Bahia and Sergipe were analyzed and for comparison purposes, samples of crude oils produced in Brazil, Middle East, Nigeria and Venezuela were also analyzed. The analytical results showed that the oily material that reached the beaches has geochemical characteristics compatible with those of the Venezuelan oil, indicating it was severely weathered or a product made with heavy oil produced.

Keywords: Forensic geochemistry; Heavy oil; Oil spill; Petroleum; Stable carbon isotopes.

MeSH terms

Brazil
Disasters*
Environmental Monitoring
Middle East
Nigeria
Petroleum Pollution* / analysis
Petroleum* / analysis
Venezuela
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Petroleum
Water Pollutants, Chemical