GEO Brasil - UNEP

The state of health and the environment
the state of the environment in Brazil
environmental data to demonstrate that the lower class
segments of the population live in the most polluted areas
This situation highlights the historical socio-economic
divide affecting the lower class population and its clear-cut
impacts on the current arrangement of the Brazilian urban
space (CGVAM, 2002b)
In addition, for a solution of the Brazilian population’s health
problems caused by air pollution to be found, burns must
also be a case in point These are common practices in
extensive agricultural areas in Brazil for clearance purposes
and little information is available about the issue In Alta
Floresta, in the State of Mato Grosso, a twenty-fold increase
in the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases
was reported in 1997, in an incident where biomass was
burnt (Brauer, 1998)
126 Healthcare and the Environment over the
past two decades
1996 – Caruaru, Pernambuco State: Over 60 patients in
a haemodialysis clinic died due to the use of water
contaminated by hexotoxic cianobacteria (blue algae),
in the dialysis process In addition to the sanitation
problem associated to a lack of water quality
surveillance, the environmental cause – poorly explored
up to now – is probably associated to water
eutrophication
2000: Three major environmental, health-threatening
problems were reported:
a) one in Maua City (São Paulo State), where there were
emanations of aromatic hydrocarbons, including
benzene, in a gated community built on a lot previously
used as an illegal dump for industrial residues, though
the community’s inhabitants were unaware of this
Consequences for human health are still being
assessed;
1983 – Cubatao - São Paulo: Hundreds of people were
intoxicated by benzene, a problem that was also
detected in various petrochemical and steel hubs in
the country (Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro State; Ouro
Branco, Minas Gerais State; Camaçari, Bahia State;
Vitoria, Espirito Santo State) Over 4,000 cases have
been identified
1985 – Rogue landfills containing organochlorines were
found in several areas of the “Baixada Santista” region
in São Paulo Local inhabitants and workers suffered
the effects of residues of pentachlorophenol, carbon
tetrachloride, perchlorethylene and hexachlorobenzene
Residues of hexachlorobenzene were detected in breast
milk in the contaminated area, and cytogenetical and
hepatic alterations in people who worked in the
industry that caused the contamination
1986: Vila Soco, a slum in Cubatao City, São Paulo,
was virtually destroyed by fire due to a leakage of
gasoline in the piping system of an oil refinery industry
1986: Greatest radiological accident outside a nuclear
plant The substance involved was Cesium 137 , and the
accident occurred in Goiania, Goias State
b) in Paulinea (São Paulo State), chlorine residues and
heavy metals from a large producer of agrochemicals
and incinerator of organochlorine residues
contaminate the soil and water tables, thus endangering
the people living in the surrounding area of the
company
c) in an area of manganese exploration – in the influence
zone of this production chain – in Serra do Navio,
Amapa State, contamination of the environment is
intense, especially by arsenic The contamination has
reached areas far from the mining zone, including urban
areas Manganese can provoke neurological
syndromes, and arsenic can cause cancer in human
beings The situation is currently the object of
environmental risk studies
In addition to such events, the so-called “environmental
disasters” are also relevant, as they are considered as natural
disasters that occurred during the period 1990-1999 on the
Brazilian territory, including floods, dry spells, droughts,
landslides and forest fires Except for landslides, all other
disasters were directly associated to the “EL NIÑO”
phenomenon, which affected climatic conditions and
precipitation levels across the country Examples of impacts
caused by this phenomenon include forest fires in the North,
droughts in the Northeast and floods in the South
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