Authorities in Brazil said on Thursday the risk of acid pollution from a bridge collapse in the country’s north is limited as they raised the death toll from the disaster to eight.
The search was on for nine people who are still missing, occupants of eight vehicles that were crossing the Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge when it collapsed last Sunday. The structure is the main link between the Brazilian states of Tocantins and Maranhao.
There were fears that the Tocantins River might be contaminated with sulfuric acid transported by two trucks that fell into the water. A third truck transported pesticides.
The danger from these chemicals delayed rescue and recovery operations for days while water analysis and inspections of the trucks’ chemical tank trailers were conducted.
“The tanks are intact. We are currently working on strategies to remove these products,” said the spokesperson for the Tocantins Fire Department.
An environmental official from the local government, Caco Graca, told TV Globo that “the risk of pollution and impact on the environment” was “low.”
“The worst-case scenario would have been that the (acid) charge spread during the fall. But that didn’t happen. The tanks are intact,” he said.
The causes of the collapse were under investigation, but officials said initial indications were that the bridge’s central beam – built in the 1960s – was failing.
lg/rmb/mlm
