Sema report did not indicate contamination in the Tarauacá River after the spill of 15 thousand liters of oil in the Jordão Archive: Emanoel Farias/Sema A report from the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema) did not indicate contamination in the water samples collected after the spill of 15 thousand liters of oil in the Tarauacá River, in the municipality of Jordão, in the interior of Acre, on April 24th. According to the agency, the water can be used as all the parameters analyzed showed results within normal limits. ? The leak occurred after the sinking of a Transportadora RI Ltda ferry. At the time, the accident caused concern among riverside residents, mobilized environmental agencies and led to the declaration of an emergency situation in the municipality. Four days after the disaster, on April 28th, Sema collected the samples. The Transport Company was fined R$3 million and can still appeal. ? Join the g1 AC channel on WhatsApp According to Sema, the technical report with laboratory reports was sent to the Public Ministry of Acre (MP-AC) and the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA), which monitored the case. g1 contacted company representatives and the MP-AC and, until the last update of this report, had not received a response. Transport company was fined R$3 million for oil spill in river in Acre In a statement, Sema said that the report confirmed that the compounds linked to the fuel and other metals did not present concentrations indicative of contamination. Even so, the agency said it has 17 monitoring points distributed across nine rivers in Acre. (See more below) READ MORE MP opens investigation to investigate oil spill after ferry sinking in Acre river Water samples are collected after oil spill in AC river: 'Irresponsibility towards the population' Although turbidity was high (ranging from 530.09 to 898.50 in the reports), the technical analysis indicated that this condition was due to the Amazon rainy season (characterized by an increase in sediments, organic matter and suspended particles during floods) and not due to the leak. Furthermore, the reports highlighted results such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and electrical conductivity did not indicate changes incompatible with the technical assessment carried out. The results were: Oils and Greases: 4.00; Benzene: 0.0034; Toluene: 0.0019; Ethylbenzene: 0.0050; Xylenes: 0.0036; BTEX Total [sum of these compounds]: 0.0139; Benzo[a]pyrene: 0.0139; Lead: 0.01 (concentrations above the reference limits were not verified) "The reports did not identify any type of contamination related to the oil spill. As the analyzes did not indicate any change in the quality of the water, it can be consumed. All results were negative for contamination after the evaluation", Sema informed in the note. Expert warns Despite the results of the analysis, the professor and researcher in Geography, Science, Innovation and Technology for the Amazon, from the Federal University of Acre (Ufac), Rodrigo Peréa, explains that a negative report does not mean that the environmental disaster has ceased to exist. According to him, the very dynamics of Amazonian rivers can cause fuel to quickly disappear from the water column, which ends up making it difficult to detect in analyzes carried out as it occurred, days after the disaster. "The running water is renewed every second. If the samples were collected days after the peak of the leak, or in areas where the current had already carried the fuel, the oil levels are below the equipment's detection limit. A report does not nullify the environmental disaster", he considered. Still according to the researcher, the biggest impacts are not necessarily dissolved in the water, but on the surface of the river and in the sediments at the bottom. He explains that the diesel film blocks the exchange of oxygen between water and air, contaminates vegetation and affects fish, birds and insects in the region. "The damage caused by a diesel spill is not just what dissolves in the water. The impact occurs on the surface, on riparian vegetation and on organisms that depend on this environment. This directly affects fishing and food security for riverside and indigenous communities", he says. Oil hides Peréa also states that the behavior of diesel in Amazon rivers allows part of the fuel to be trapped in areas with little current and at the bottom of the river. According to him, the oil particles adhere to the sediments, sink and remain stored in the mud for years. "The water report may be negative, but the mud at the bottom of the river continues to retain hydrocarbons. The river is not a straight tube and can slowly release toxic substances. There are bends and backwater areas where the oil accumulates and continues to contaminate the base of the food chain," he said. The researcher also explains that fish that stay deeper in rivers, such as mandis, surubins and cascudos, can absorb these substances when feeding in contaminated areas. According to him, this creates silent contamination that can reach populations that depend on fishing. "The danger now is no longer seeing the oil slick coming down the river, but consuming fish that fed on contaminated sediments. Contamination can remain between one and three years. It was necessary to contain the diesel with floating barriers, alert all communities downstream and guarantee a supply of drinking water before the arrival of the oil plume," he said. Asked about the risks for residents who use water from the river, Rodrigo Peréa states that consumption represents a health risk. "Straining or boiling the water does not solve the problem. The only safe alternative is to use another source, such as properly stored rainwater, mineral water or wells not connected to the river. The risk also extends to preparing food and bathing", he added. Note from Sema The Government of Acre, through the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema), concluded that there is no evidence of water contamination in the Tarauacá River as a result of the diesel oil leak that occurred after the partial overturning of a ferry in the municipality of Jordão, in April 2026. The conclusion is contained in the Definitive Technical Report prepared by the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Quality of Sema. After the accident, Sema coordinated emergency actions together with state and federal agencies, including the installation of containment barriers, pumping of remaining fuel, removal of the vessel and monitoring of water quality at points located in the municipalities of Jordão and Tarauacá. Laboratory analyzes did not detect concentrations of compounds associated with diesel oil, such as oils and greases, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, BTEX, benzo[a]pyrene and lead, at levels that would indicate contamination of the river. The physicochemical parameters also remained within the expected conditions for the period, with the high turbidity being compatible with the Amazon flood regime. During the field inspections, the technical teams did not identify persistent oil stains, fuel odors, or records of deaths of fish or other aquatic animals in the inspected areas. The technical assessment indicates that the conditions of strong current and high volume of water contributed to the dispersion and dilution of the material, while the removal of the vessel eliminated the source of the spill. Based on the results, Sema informs that there is no need to adopt extraordinary measures related to the event and that the Tarauacá River will continue to be monitored through the State Water Quality Monitoring Network, which has 17 monitoring points distributed across nine rivers in Acre. Review Acre’s news programs