Experimental investigation of soil and groundwater impacts caused by vinasse disposal

The problems caused by the residual effluents of wine distilleries for alcohol production are well known. The effluent effects in soil and groundwater are being researched in an area with sugar cane culture which receives, yearly, vinasse by dispersion. Samples are being collected from the soil, the groundwater and the existing creeks in the area. Four sub-areas are being monitored separately with a vinasse application of 300 m 3/ha year. Experimentation periods in each area have been 0, 5, 10 and 15 years. In the unsaturated zone, samples are being collected at depths of 25, 75 and 150 cm. The chemical analyses include macro and micro nutrients, organic matter and pH. Physical analyses give the soil water retention, hydraulic conductivity and soil particle distribution. These measurements permit the evaluation of nitrogen absorption and fertility changes of the soil. A tendency for the maintenance of soil fertility can be observed but with an elevation of nitrate concentration in groundwater.

Toxic effects of nickel exposure on heart and liver of rats

The role of air pollution as a health risk factor is of special interest. Numerous toxic pollutants, such as nickel, are being released to the environment as a result of combustion of fossil fuels, crude oil, and coal. Nickel in the atmosphere can be combined with other environmental pollutants, producing various nickel compounds, which have varying animal toxicity. A rat biossay validated for the identification of toxic effects of nickel revealed increased serum activities of total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alanine transaminase (ALT) in rats that received intratracheal injection of Ni2+ in .09% saline solution of NiCl2. The total LDH activity was also increased in the heart, and the isoenzyme pattern showed the LDH1/LDH2 ratio elevated to greater than 1. We conclude that intratracheal administration of nickel induced cardiac and hepatic damage. The development of cardiac and hepatic damage and of increased enzymes' activities was only demonstrated when nickel had accumulated in these tissues, indicating that nickel depot is essential to its toxicity. Intratracheal administration of NiCl2 induced changes in LDH and ALT activities.

Bioaerossóis bacterianos em um hospital

Microbial contamination of an enclosed area may come from outside or be generated within the area itself. In the study described here, bioaerosol levels in hospital air were quantified and related to those found in the air outside, taking into account some of the environmental variables that affect air quality, such as the number of occupants of a room and the type of ventilation. Airborne bacteria were collected for five minute by blowing air at 500 L min -1 in high speed jets on to the surface on plates culture in a single-stage bioaerosol impactor. The mean viable count of bacteria in the air outside in the hospital, São Paulo State, was 77 ± 4 CFU m -3, while in the air inside the hospital it was 302 ± 260 CFU m-3. The operating theatre was the only space sampled with a controlled environment and, after orthopedic surgery, it had the highest bioaerosol count recorded (867 ± 482 CFU m-3). In the enclosed environments, nine bacterial species were identified. Despite the difficulty in establishing precise numbers of bacteria in the bioaerosols in hospital environments, the values obtained demonstrate a need to instigate suitable programs to keep the microbial density low in these environments, and eliminate microorganisms presenting a significant risk to their occupants. It is also recommended that such programs include the monitoring of hospital air, with the aim of defining standards for acceptable numbers of bacteria in the bioaerosol.

Impactos ambientais da mineração no estado de São Paulo

Generally, mining causes significant impact over the environment, since this activity often involves suppression of vegetation, soil exposure and erosion resulting in important changes in the quantity and quality of surface and ground-waters and in air pollution, among other negative effects. The prevention and mitigation of these impacts in the State of Sao Paulo are made through the environmental licensing. Another way of environmental management includes programs like mining and environmental zoning and regional mining director plans. But there is clear dissociation between the actions effectively taken and those recommended in the projects, limiting the recovery of degraded areas to measures that only attenuate the visual impact. this paper presents considerations on the subject and challenges of the industry to adapt to the Federal Constitution and the National Policy on Environment.

Lidar observation campaign of sugar cane fires and industrial emissions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil has an important role in the biomass burning, with the detection of approximately 100,000 burning spots in a single year (2007). Most of these spots occur in the southern part of the Amazon basin during the dry season (from August to november) and these emissions reach the southeast of the country, a highly populated region and with serious urban air pollution problems. With the growing demand on biofuels, sugarcane is considerably expanding in the state of São Paulo, being a strong contributor to the bad air quality in this region. In the state of São Paulo, the main land use are pasture and sugarcane crop, that covers around 50% and 10% of the total area, respectively. Despite the aerosol from sugarcane burning having reduced atmospheric residence time, from a few days to some weeks, they might get together with those aerosol which spread over long distances (hundreds to thousands of kilometers). In the period of June through February 2010 a LIDAR observation campaign was carried in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in order to observe and characterize optically the aerosols from two distinct sources, namely, sugar cane biomass burning and industrial emissions. For this purpose 2 LIDAR systems were available, one mobile and the other placed in a laboratory, both working in the visible (532 nm) and additionally the mobile system had a Raman channel available (607 nm). Also this campaign counted with a SODAR, a meteorological RADAR specially set up to detect aerosol echoes and gas-particle analyzers. To guarantee a good regional coverage 4 distinct sites were available to deploy the instruments, 2 in the near field of biomass burning activities (Rio Claro and Bauru), one for industrial emissions (Cubatão) and others from urban sources (São Paulo). The whole campaign provide the equivalent of 30 days of measurements which allowed us to get aerosol optical properties such as backscattering/extinction coefficients, scatter and LIDAR ratios, those were used to correlate with air quality and meteorological indicators and quantities. In this paper we should focus on the preliminary results of the Raman LIDAR system and its derived aerosol optical quantities. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.

Sidestream cigarette smoke and cardiac autonomic regulation

Background: The literature has already demonstrated that cigarette influences the cardiovascular system. In this study, we performed a literature review in order to investigate the relationship between sidestream cigarette smoke (SSCS) and cardiac autonomic regulation. Methods. Searches were performed on Medline, SciELO, Lilacs and Cochrane databases using the crossing between the key-words: cigarette smoking, autonomic nervous system, air pollution and heart rate variability. Results: The selected studies indicated that SSCS exposure affects the sympathetic and parasympathetic responses to changes in arterial blood pressure. Moreover, heart rate responses to environmental tobacco smoke are increased in smokers compared to non-smokers. The mechanism involved on this process suggest increased oxidative stress in brainstem areas that regulate the cardiovascular system. Conclusion: Further studies are necessary to add new elements in the literature to improve new therapies to treat cardiovascular disorders in subjects exposed to sidestream cigarette smoke. © 2013 Valenti et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Avaliação de apoptose induzida por extrato orgânico de material particulado atmosférico, rico em hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos, na região urbana de Araraquara durante a safra e entressafra de cana-de-açúcar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise biogeográfica de líquens como indicadores da poluição do ar da cidade de Araras - SP

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

Efeito do aumento da concentração de dióxido de carbono do ar sobre a mancha foliar causada por cylindrocladium candelabrum em mudas de eucalyptus urophylla

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Proteção de Plantas) - FCA

The economics of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean: Paradoxes and challenges of sustainable development

The robust growth of Latin American and Caribbean economies in recent years has led to an improvement in economic and social conditions in the region. It has also had collateral negative effects, however, such as more air pollution in urban areas and a serious deterioration of various natural assets, including non-renewable resources, water resources and forests. There are economies and societies within the region that are highly vulnerable to all sorts of adverse impacts of climate change, and whose production structures and consumption patterns still tend to leave a large carbon footprint. This situation has reached the point of undermining the foundations of the region’s economic buoyancy. Latin America and the Caribbean therefore needs to make the transition in the years to come towards a sustainable form of development that will preserve its economic, social and natural assets for future generations and leave them with a legacy of a more equal, more socially inclusive, low-carbon form of economic growth. Viewed from this standpoint, the climate change challenge is also a sustainable development challenge, and if it is to be addressed successfully, a global consensus that recognizes the asymmetries and paradoxes of the problem will have to be reached..

Avaliação de mutagenicidade, citotoxicidade e expressão de proteínas relacionadas a apoptose, Bak, BCL-2 e P53 fosforilado, em células tratadas com fuligem e particulado total de queima de cana-de-açúcar

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Simulação da dispersão de poluentes atmosféricos e avaliação da qualidade do ar na área de abrangência do Distrito Industrial de Barcarena-PA

A poluição atmosférica é considerada atualmente um dos maiores problemas da sociedade contemporânea, por ameaçar sua qualidade de vida, pois gera impactos negativos no meio ambiente natural e antrópico. Dentre as formas de controle da poluição atmosférica de fontes fixas podem-se destacar a diluição das emissões na atmosfera devido aos efeitos de dispersão, a adoção de equipamentos de controle antes do lançamento dos gases ou a realocação de fonte, visto ser uma possibilidade a ser sugerida durante o procedimento de licenciamento ambiental de empreendimentos com potencial poluidor do ar. Atualmente modelos computacionais de dispersão de poluentes na atmosfera vêm sendo amplamente utilizados na simulação da concentração de poluentes, visando auxiliar órgãos ambientais no prognóstico da qualidade do ar ou suprir deficiências de monitoramento de emissões atmosféricas. O presente trabalho estudou a qualidade do ar e avaliou a dispersão de poluentes atmosféricos sobre Vila do Conde e áreas de influência do Distrito Industrial de Barcarena, no município de Barcarena, estado do Pará, com auxílio do modelo AERMOD View, visto a possibilidade de se estabelecer uma relação entre os níveis de emissões dos poluentes na fonte, com as concentrações dos mesmos no ar, bem como identificar pontos críticos de poluição. O Índice de Qualidade do Ar – IQA e as fragilidades das populações humanas das áreas afetadas pelos poluentes atmosféricos, também foram mensurados na pesquisa. A metodologia empregada permitiu mensurar a concentração média de poluentes atmosféricos durante um determinado tempo de modelagem, informações quanto ao alcance da pluma de poluentes foram alcançados também. São fornecidos ainda informações quanto à relação entre o valor de pico e o valor médio da concentração nas áreas receptoras, provocadas por empreendimentos com características operacionais similares ao modelado. Os resultados demostram que a influência de parâmetros meteorológicos, na dispersão de poluentes são indispensáveis e determinantes na previsão do impacto na qualidade do ar e no planejamento do uso e ocupação do solo de áreas que abrigam atividades poluidoras da atmosfera.

Biocombustíveis: concepções de energia com enfoque para a educação ambiental

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A glossary for biometeorology

Here we present, for the first time, a glossary of biometeorological terms. The glossary aims to address the need for a reliable source of biometeorological definitions, thereby facilitating communication and mutual understanding in this rapidly expanding field. A total of 171 terms are defined, with reference to 234 citations. It is anticipated that the glossary will be revisited in coming years, updating terms and adding new terms, as appropriate. The glossary is intended to provide a useful resource to the biometeorology community, and to this end, readers are encouraged to contact the lead author to suggest additional terms for inclusion in later versions of the glossary as a result of new and emerging developments in the field.