Metal exposure in a child population after a mine tailings dam failure. Projeto Bruminha

Santos, Aline de Souza Espindola; Saraiva, Renan Duarte dos Santos; Oliveira, Ana Paula Natividade de; Costa, Michele Alves; Alonzo, Herling Gregorio Aguilar; Campolina, Délio; André, Leiliane Coelho; Peixoto, Sérgio Viana; Câmara, Volney de Magalhães; Asmus, Carmen Ildes Rodrigues Fróes

doi:10.1590/1980-549720230017

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia

Español English

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Original Article • Rev. bras. Epidemiol. 26 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720230017 copy

Metal exposure in a child population after a mine tailings dam failure. Projeto Bruminha

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Objective:

This study aimed to analyze the urinary concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Mn in children living in areas directly affected by the tailings of the Brumadinho disaster.

Methods:

We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study on a population of 217 children aged 0 to 6 years, living in Córrego do Feijão (CF), Parque da Cachoeira (PC), Aranha (AR), and Tejuco (TJ), enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Child Health in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais) — Projeto Bruminha. Socioeconomic data and urine samples were collected to determine the concentration of selected metals.

Results:

Children living in locations not directly affected by the disaster (AR and TJ) had higher concentrations of As and Mn than those in directly affected areas (CF and PC). Additionally, children living in locations not potentially exposed to dust from tailings mud or mining activity (AR) showed higher urinary As concentrations than those potentially exposed (CF, PC, and TJ).

Conclusion:

Our results suggest the need to investigate possible sources of As exposure in children living in areas not directly affected by the disaster and not potentially exposed to dust.

Keywords:
Metals; Children health; Mining; Disasters

	% >LoD	GM (95%CI)	Min-Max	Percentiles
	% >LoD	GM (95%CI)	Min-Max	25	50	75	95
As μg g⁻¹	172 (100.0)	8.46 (1.08–66.41)	0.70–144.30	5.45	9.35	13.98	26.74
Cd μg g⁻¹	40 (23.3)	0.11 (0.01–0.85)	0.10–0.40	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.29
Hg μg g⁻¹	110 (64.0)	0.37 (0.05–2.87)	0.10–9.20	0.18	0.30	0.83	2.29
Pb μg l⁻¹	153 (88.9)	0.74 (0.09–5.83)	0.10–6.00	0.40	0.80	1.30	3.63
Mn μg l⁻¹	144 (83.7)	0.40 (0.05–3.17)	0.10–106.80	0.20	0.35	0.68	3.48

		Cd μg g⁻¹			As μg g⁻¹			Hg μg g⁻¹			Pb μg l⁻¹			Mn μg l⁻¹
		n	GM (95%CI)	p^* * Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.	n	GM (95%CI)	p^* * Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.	n	GM (95%CI)	p^* * Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.	n	GM (95%CI)	p^* * Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.	n	GM (95%CI)	p^* * Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.
Age (years)
	0–11 months	6	0.13 (0.02–1.06)	0.05	12	10.08 (1.28–79.10)	0.19	10	0.42 (0.05–3.29)	0.44	11	0.77 (0.10–6.07)	0.37	11	0.86 (0.11–6.77)	0.07
	1–2	7	0.12 (0.02–1.11)		17	8.99 (1.15–70.53)		11	0.24 (0.03–1.85)		16	0.58 (0.07–4.58)		14	0.39 (0.05–3.06)
	>2–4	14	0.10 (0.01–0.78)		60	7.22 (0.92–56.67)		38	0.38 (0.05–2.98)		52	0.67 (0.09–5.28)		48	0.47 (0.06–3.70)
	>4	13	0.10 (0.01–0.78)		83	9.14 (1.17–71.73)		51	0.38 (0.05–2.99)		74	0.83 (0.11–6.55)		71	0.33 (0.04–2.55)
Sex
	Female	16	0.11 (0.01–0.86)	0.81	91	9.48 (1.21–74.4)	0.34	53	0.36 (0.05–2.84)	0.70	78	0.73 (0.09–5.71)	0.98	72	0.43 (0.05–3.38)	0.50
	Male	24	0.11 (0.01–0.84)	0.81	81	7.65 (0.98–60.03)	0.34	57	0.37 (0.05–2.90)	0.70	75	0.76 (0.10–5.95)	0.98	72	0.38 (0.05–2.97)	0.50
Skin color
	White	15	0.10 (0.01–0.78)	0.16	60	9.08 (1.16–71.25)	0.89	35	0.37 (0.05–2.94)	0.99	56	0.66 (0.08–5.16)	0.04	52	0.39 (0.05–3.07)	0.99
	Non-white	24	0.11 (0.02–0.96)	0.16	98	8.74 (1.11–68.58)	0.89	66	0.38 (0.05–3.00)	0.99	86	0.86 (0.11–6.71)	0.04	81	0.42 (0.05–3.29)	0.99
Years of maternal schooling
	0	3	0.11 (0.01–0.89)	0.25	6	9.17 (1.17–71.91)	0.51	4	0.41 (0.05–3.19)	0.69	6	0.76 (0.10–5.96)	0.78	6	0.42 (0.06–3.78)	0.37
	1 to 9	11	0.11 (0.01–0.84)		47	8.50 (1.08–66.73)		26	0.36 (0.05–2.83)		43	0.78 (0.10–6.13)		35	0.36 (0.05–2.82)
	>9	25	0.10 (0.01–0.78)		114	7.51 (0.96–58.89)		78	0.32 (0.03–2.12)		100	0.60 (0.07–4.03)		99	0.29 (0.05–3.23)

	n (%); GM (95%CI)		p^* * Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.
	Disaster^a a (Córrego do Feijão — CF and Parque da Cachoeira — PC) (n=54)	Non-disaster^b b (Aranha — AR and Tejuco — TJ) (n=118)
As μg g⁻¹	54 (100.0); 6.36 (0.81–49.93)	118 (100.0); 9.64 (1.23–75.67)	0.009
Cd μg g⁻¹	9 (16.7); 0.10 (0.01–0.78)	31 (26.3); 0.11 (0.01–0.87)	0.338
Hg μg g⁻¹	39 (72.2); 0.36 (0.05–2.83)	71 (60.2); 0.37 (0.05–2.89)	0.807
Pb μg l⁻¹	44 (81.5); 0.65 (0.08–5.10)	109 (92.4); 0.78 (0.10–6.15)	0.270
Mn μg l⁻¹	46 (85.1); 0.29 (0.20–12.01)	98 (83.1); 0.47 (0.06–3.69)	0.029
	Dust^c c (CF, PC, and TJ) (n=94)	Non-dust^d d (AR) (n=78)	p^* * Mann-Whitney test; GM: geometric mean; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval.
As μg g⁻¹	94 (100.0); 7.28 (0.93–57.11)	78 (100.0); 10.15 (1.29–79.67)	0.009
Cd μg g⁻¹	21 (22.3); 0.11 (0.01–0.83)	19 (24.4); 0.11 (0.01–0.88)	0.495
Hg μg g⁻¹	65 (69.1); 0.36 (0.05–2.85)	45 (57.7); 0.37 (0.05–2.9)	0.714
Pb μg l⁻¹	80 (85.1); 0.80 (0.10–6.31)	73 (93.6); 0.68 (0.09–5.35)	0.204
Mn μg l⁻¹	81 (86.2); 0.38 (0.05–2.99)	63 (80.8); 0.43 (0.06–3.41)	0.535

Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 715 - 2º andar - sl. 3 - Cerqueira César, 01246-904 São Paulo SP Brasil , Tel./FAX: +55 11 3085-5411 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revbrepi@usp.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS

[1] Corresponding author: Aline de Souza Espindola Santos. Avenida Horácio Macedo, s/n, Cidade Universitária, CEP: 21941-598, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brasil. E-mail: esp.aline@iesc.ufrj.br