Controversy: Abreu e Lima refinery accused of emitting toxic gases; Petrobras refutes the accusations

Residents around the refinery demand the installation of filters to reduce the gases that would be causing disease

Residents of the municipality of Ipojuca, on the south coast of Pernambuco, accuse the Abreu e Lima refinery, located in that city, of emitting soot and toxic gases that would be making the population sick. To alert the authorities, a protest was held on Monday (09), interdicting part of the PE-60, one of the main roads that connect Recife to the port region of smooth, where the refining enterprise is located.

Residents set fire to tires and other objects, demanding the installation of filters to reduce the gases emitted by the refinery that would be causing respiratory symptoms, skin irritation and even gastrointestinal problems. The local Fire Department was called in to put out the fire and put an end to the protest. About 3 people live in the region. The environmental technician, a resident of Ipojuca, says that she feels her skin burn due to pollution. “I feel that sting in my skin, my throat and my eyes burning,” she reports.

The municipality of Ipojuca is known for its natural beauty, especially in relation to its coastline with clear waters that bathe the paradisiacal beaches of Maracaípe, Muro Alto and the well-known Porto de Galinhas. However, after the installation of the Abreu e Lima refinery in the Suape complex in 2014, several complaints of intoxication emerged. The Suape Forum, a movement that defends the territorial and socio-environmental rights of the communities surrounding the port complex, follows the struggle and the complaints.

“For some years now, the Suape Forum has received complaints from residents about gas leaks at the Abreu e Lima refinery. What we have noticed is that for some years now these leaks have been intensifying”, comments the legal advisor of Forum Suape, Mariana Vidal Maia, in an interview with the TVT channel. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Pernambuco was also called and filed a civil action in the Ipojuca court against the Petrobras in relation to damage to the health of residents who are said to be affected by toxic gases.

Petrobras says it operates according to international standards

Petrobras is responsible for the Abreu e Lima refinery. The state-owned company states that “it operates in accordance with international safety, environment and health standards” and that “the unit meets the atmospheric emissions parameters determined in the operating license and has four stations that monitor air quality full time, which cover the region of Ipojuca and Cabo de Santo Agostinho. The analyzes of the stations demonstrate that the refinery operates within the legal parameters of air quality”, he adds.

Petrobras invests in the Abreu e Lima refinery to try to sell it one day

Abreu e Lima is the most modern refinery that Petrobras has built. The project contributes to meeting the national demand for fuels derived from petroleum, with the highest rate of conversion of crude oil into diesel (70%), essential fuel for the circulation of products and wealth in the country.

RNEST started its operations almost nine years ago with the first set of units (Train I), 34 years after the last refinery built by Petrobras. In June 2019, the refinery was included in the Federal Government's sale plan, chaired by Jair Bolsonaro at the time. But no one was interested in the business.

So, Petrobras' strategy was to invest more than R$ 5 billion (US$ 1 billion) to complete the refinery's second train. The project is now in the hands of the new Federal Government, chaired by Lula. The Polo GasLub Itaboraí and the former Petrochemical Complex of Rio de Janeiro (Comperj) are other refining works unfinished, which, like the Abreu e Lima refinery, have already been the target of investigations by Operation Lava Jato.

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