After three years of the tragedy of the collapse of the B1 dam, owned by mining company Vale in Brumadinho (MG), residents of the city are still dealing with the consequences.
A recent study carried out by Fiocruz Minas (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz) and UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) revealed that the population of Brumadinho has a high level of exposure to toxic metals and consequent health problems.
The first stage of the study, which assesses the living, health and working conditions, in addition to the demands for health services, of the population of Brumadinho after the disaster, was completed by the researchers. One of the aspects evaluated in the research is the profile of exposure to metals in the municipality.
The dosage of cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and manganese was verified through blood and/or urine tests. The results showed that, among adolescents, some metals are above the reference limits, especially total arsenic in the urine (28.9% with more than 10 μg/g creatinine), manganese in the blood (52.3% with more than 15 μg/L) and blood lead (12.2% with more than 10 μg/dL).
In adults, increased levels of total arsenic in the urine (33.7%) and of manganese in the blood (37.0%) were also observed.
Children from 0 to 6 years of age were also evaluated in relation to the amount of metals present in the body, through urine tests. Of the total samples collected, 172 were considered valid for analysis. The results showed that, in all of them, the presence of at least one of the five metals under evaluation was detected.
The analyzes also showed that 50.6% of the urinary samples had at least one metal above the reference value. Arsenic was found above the reference value in 41.9% of the samples analyzed and lead in 13% of them.
Another analyzed point that caught the attention of the researchers were the cases of respiratory problems.
Among adolescents, when asked if they had already received medical diagnoses of chronic diseases, the most frequent answers were asthma or asthmatic bronchitis, mentioned by 12.3% of respondents. But this percentage is higher among residents of some regions, reaching 23.8% among residents of Parque da Cachoeira and 17.1% among those living in Córrego do Feijão, regions directly exposed to the tailings dam failure.
Pneumonia was mentioned by 10.9% of the adolescents, but among those who live in Pires, a region bathed by the Paraopeba River that was hit by the mud, this percentage was 16.7%.
In the adult population, when asked if a doctor had already made the diagnosis of chronic diseases, the most cited were hypertension (30.1%), high cholesterol (23.1%) and chronic back problems (21.1%). with small variations between regions.
Diabetes was prevalent in 9.8% of the adult population. This result shows higher estimates than those found in the National Health Survey (PNS), carried out by the IBGE in 2019, which studied the country’s population aged 18 or over and found hypertension in 23.9% of Brazilians, high cholesterol in 14, 6% and diabetes in 7.7%.
In addition, respondents reported other signs of health problems. Adolescents most frequently reported nasal irritation (29.7%), dry cough (21.4%), numbness or cramps (19.5%) and dizziness or fainting (18.4%).
In adults, practically the same reports as adolescents predominated, with some variations: nasal irritation (31.6%), numbness or cramps (25.8%), dry cough (23.8%) and skin itching (18.4%). %).
In both groups, these symptoms were more frequent among residents of Parque da Cachoeira, Córrego do Feijão and Pires, regions that were directly affected by the dam’s mud.
The B1 dam, owned by mining company Vale, broke in Córrego do Feijão in January 2019, killing 272 people and contaminating the entire Paraopeba River basin. To this day, no one is arrested.
Source: CNN Brasil
