Although warnings about the collapse of Braskem's mine in Maceió gained strength last week, signs of the problem began to emerge a month ago. According to the Institute of the Environment of Alagoas (IMA-AL), the oil company withheld the information and, therefore, was fined R$ 2 million.
The penalty refers to the non-compliance with a condition that requires an immediate alert of problems in the old salt extraction structures in the capital. According to the IMA, a preliminary analysis before the filling of mine 18 on November 7 detected the obstruction of its cavity.
Braskem stated in a note that the assertion is untrue. "Immediate communications were made to the competent authorities, including the IMA, regarding the changes detected in the monitoring network data, as well as the safety measures adopted by the company."
According to the meteorologist and coordinator of the monitoring center of the Civil Defense of Maceió, Hugo Carvalho, the first signs of problems in mine 18 appeared on November 6.