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Effects of Heavy Industrial Pollution on Respiratory Function in the Children of Cubatao, Brazil: A Preliminary Report

1991; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Volume: 94; Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3431292

1552-9924

Dalia M. Spektor, Vera A. Hofmeister, Paulo Artaxo, Jose A. P. Brague, Francisco Echelar, Diogo Pupo Nogueira, Carl Hayes, George Thurston, Morton Lippmann,

Air Quality and Health Impacts

Under a cooperative agent betwen New York Univenity and the Envinmental Protctio Agency, and in collaborn- tion with the University of Sao Paulo (USP), a study is ongoing in Cubatao, Bazil, to try to establish exposure-response reblinships on the mpact ofspedflc i du a tson respiratory funton in sg children.Cubatao, ltd on the coast about 44km from thecity of Sao Paulo, is surrounded by U-shaped mountains (-800m) covered with sub- tropical forests Its area is -160 km', and it has a populatin of -90,000.The geogaphy is such that it causes a consis- tent diurnal land-breezepattern andtheoppouite duringthe night, withlowdispersionoftheair pollutants.Ina small area (-40 kinz) against the mountains there is a concentratio of over 20 large plants: oil refinery; iron and steel mill; fertilizer, cement, and gypsum production; coke kilns; and chemical, paint, and many other ancllary plants.During the 1988 school year, March through June, August through November, 600 six-year-old children, attending six different kindergarten schos, und monthy y tests.Becase the chfldren live within a 500 m radius oftheir school, poution monitos were located on each of the six schools.Partices were colected _us dicotomous stacked fflter units placedon20m we toredethe inflence ofdud bfom unpaved roads.Theunits use different pore size fiers forcoase, 2 to 10pum, and fine partides, (dp) < 2pm, andtook sepate samples for day and nighttime.lree sitesare in the densely populated downtown area, one is on a newy devloped outsirt area, and the last two are residential areas, far from industries, upontheside ofthesurroundinghills (elevations, 95 and 200m).Theyearly average thorac aerosol mass con- centration (FM. is very highon al sites, rwaging from 59 ± 39pm/m'to240 ± 122 pm/nt', the number ofdays with mean PM,.> 0 pn/n rmae from 27to96% depe nd ghborhd.Therehasnotbeena gnifantreducon of am- bient PM,* amen tiom since 19M5, whenpevi studies by USPshIw groslya l func ind en children.The initial analyses on the current study show that respiratory airflow rates are snifantly associated with PMI.