The oil spill near Rio de Janeiro's scenic Guanabara Bay, a few weeks ago, is not as minor as it was reported to be. The magnitude of the spill is coming to the fore only now as environmental officials evaluate the damage from up to 110,000 litres (30,000 gallons) of crude that leaked from a ruptured underwater refinery pipeline. Axel Grael, environment subsecretary of Rio de Janeiro state government, said the owners of the Manginhos refinery near Rio could be fined us $1.2 million.
The company initially reported a spill of 2,100 gallons (8,000 litres) but later said that the spill was 10,570 gallons (40,000 litres). However, state officials have found that nearly 30,000 gallons (110,000 litres) may have leaked.
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