THE ORGANOCHLORINES INDUSTRIAL WASTE LANDFILL IN COAST OF SÃO PAULO: A CASE STUDY DOI:10.5773/rai.v8i2.700

Abstract

The industrialization in the State of São Paulo (Brazil) began the end of the nineteenth century and increased in intensity during the twentieth century. Part of this expansion process occurred without support of environmental laws which began to emerge during the 1970s. As a result, the process of industrialization occurred without an adequate management of waste, causing environmental pollution in industrial regions in the cities of the state. A case study was conducted regarding industrial waste disposal of organochloride substances in the coastal state of São Paulo, made by Clorogil S.A. during the 60’s and 70’s. The study aims to understand how it was done and the resulting environmental problems. The methodology used to discover and characterize these deposits years after their use was made difficult because there are no records of many of the areas used as irregular deposits. This article analyzes techniques for recuperation of areas contaminated by industrial waste organochlorines. Industrial waste disposals are classified as Persistent Organic Pollutants, which are compounds that cause serious damage to health, have a high cumulative effect and are highly resistant to environmental degradation. These characteristics make it difficult for recovery of the contaminated areas. This case is an example of environmental mismanagement because the three basic rules of waste management (reduce production, encourage the reuse and ultimately promote the correct disposal) were not considered. Even though waste disposal occurred thirty years ago the environmental problem persists.