Oil in Northeast Brazil: mapping conflicts and impacts of the largest disaster on the country's coast

The crude oil spill on the Brazilian coast in 2019 is considered the largest environmental disaster of this nature in the country. It had important repercussions on the environment and on the living and health conditions of the population, particularly artisanal fishermen, intensifying the vulnerability process, causing situations of injustice and environmental conflicts with negative repercussions on the territories. Aiming to analyze this environmental conflict and its impacts on environment and health of the affected population, the study applied the method proposed by the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice. It analyzed open-access documents made available by governmental and non-governmental organizations, and publications in newspapers of wide circulation. The data obtained allowed to characterize the oil spill and the identification of the socioeconomic, health, and environmental impacts published in the Atlas. There was a deepening of the vulnerability of the people of the waters, influencing the social determination of the health-disease process. The lack of sustainability of the current development model pushes for building environmental and health diagnoses in order to take remedial measures in disasters such as oil spills. EJAtlas is a way to debate situations of environmental injustice and give voice to historically oppressed communities.

Automated summary

The crude oil spill on the Brazilian coast in 2019 is considered the largest environmental disaster in the country, causing significant impacts on the environment and the health of the affected population. Using the method proposed by the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice, the study analyzed the environmental conflict and its effects on the environment and health. The findings revealed that the oil spill deepened the vulnerability of the local people and influenced the social determination of the health-disease process.