According to the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency, Maranhão has already ordered the suspension of water collection for public supply
Three trucks carrying 22,000 liters of pesticides and 76 tons of sulfuric acid, a corrosive chemical, crashed due to the collapse of the Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira on Sunday (22), according to (ANA).
The 533 meter bridge, over the Tocantins River, which connects Aguiarnópolis (TO) and Estreito (MA), partially gave way, affecting, in total, ten vehicles, including cars, trucks and motorcycles. One person died and 16 are still missing.
According to the agency, as a precaution, it has already ordered the suspension of water abstraction for public supply in the municipalities bathed by the Tocantins River that are below the collapse in the course of the river, in the direction in which the water flows, until it is determined that the plume (mass) of contaminants has been diluted and does not pose a danger to water consumption.
To assess the river’s water quality, ANA, together with the State Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources of Maranhão (Sema/MA), collects water samples at five points from the dam of the Estreito hydroelectric plant to the municipality of Empress. The Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (Cetesb/SP), a reference in water quality analysis in Brazil, will help with the analyses.
According to ANA, 19 municipalities may have been impacted. They are: Aguiarnópolis, Carrasco Bonito, Cidelândia, Esperantina, Itaguatins, Maurilândia do Tocantins, Praia Norte, Sampaio, São Miguel do Tocantins, São Sebastião do Tocantins, Tocantinópolis, Campestre do Maranhão, Estreito, Governador Edison Lobão, Imperatriz, Porto Franco, Ribamar Ficane, São Pedro da Água Branca and Vila Nova dos Martírios.
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
