Introducing OILSPILLBR: A national online platform for Brazilian oil spill data and an analysis of historical trends from 1980 to 2022.

This study presents a national-scale spatiotemporal assessment of documented oil spill events in Brazilian coastal waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone between 1980 and 2022, based on the OILSPILL-BR database, a standardized online platform developed to improve public access to historical oil spill records in Brazil. A total of 234 events greater than approximately 1 t were compiled, harmonized, classified, and analyzed according to spatial distribution, temporal evolution, spill size, source, cause, oil type, and affected ecosystem. The documented incidents, corresponding to approximately 28,080 t of oil released. The Southeast region, particularly São Paulo, concentrated most records and released volume, reflecting the overlap between offshore production, port infrastructure, petroleum logistics, maritime transport, and institutional monitoring. Hotspot analysis identified recurrent spill areas associated with major oil-handling and port zones, especially São Sebastião and Santos. Temporal results showed a decline in medium and large spills, consistent with regulatory, operational, and international pollution-prevention advances, while small spills increased after the 2000s, likely reflecting offshore expansion and improved reporting. Ships were the main source of incidents and released volume, pipelines were associated with high-volume events, and offshore platforms with recurrent small spills. The study highlights the need for unified, continuously updated national databases and demonstrates how OILSPILL-BR can support environmental management, emergency planning, risk assessment and broader decision support.