Oil patches advance threatening protected areas

Ibama’s president confirmed during a hearing at the Senate that the crude oil spilled in the Northeast originated in Venezuela. “This oil is Venezuelan. The DNA is Venezuelan. It’s a certainty, it’s an affirmation, it’s not speculation. Does it mean that Venezuela is responsible for the spill? No, this is another matter,” he said. On the same day, oil patches reached parts of the Coral Coast Environmental Protected Area, the largest coastal conservation unit in Brazil. The 400,000 hectares area is located between Northeast states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, with 120 km of beaches and mangroves. A 3m diameter oil patch was  spotted arriving in the region, the largest  patch detected so far. A task force with local residents,  city, state and federal personnel  installed contention barriers and did clean up work  on  the beaches.