Toxic and Sulfurous Foam Is Polluting the Tiete River and Killing Wildlife in Brazil

Toxic foam covered the Tiete River in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this week. It’s made up of runoff and chemicals that have been collecting upriver for months.

When a hydroelectric company recently opened a dam’s floodgates, it released all that accumulated pollution downstream.

The foam has clogged waterways and killed aquatic life, including thousands of fish. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t smell very good either, as it carries a toxic, sulfurous odor.

The pollution is depleting the oxygen in the river, making it hard for wildlife to recover. There are also fears that it may cause respiratory ailments for people living along the Tiete.

The river is over 700 miles long, and its hydroelectric projects supply energy to many.

And environmentalists warn that if the Tiete is not cleaned up, it will become an environmental disaster. 

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