Toxic materials dumped in Atlantic Ocean by sunken Brazilian Aircraft Carrier
An aircraft carrier from the Brazilian Navy has been sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, with a reported 7 tonnes of toxic materials aboard.
The Brazilian Navy announced on Monday, that the Sao Paulo dockyard had sunk the aircraft carrier in order to prevent any environmental damage caused by the decommissioned vessel.
The Brazil Navy originally planned to demolish the aircraft carrier on land, but experts argued that would have been too risky and could have had a bad impact on the environment. As a result, it was determined to be a better option to sink the ship in deep waters.
The 40-year-old aircraft carrier is reported to have been carrying a variety of hazardous materials, including asbestos, fuel and oils, among other things.
The Brazilian Navy has assured that the metals have all been treated properly, and the carrier is now safely at the bottom of the ocean, roughly 45 nautical miles east of the Rio de Janeiro coast.
This was an effort from the Brazil Navy to minimize any possible environmental damage in the future.