José Ângelo Sebastião Araújo dos Anjos

Experiências brasileiras e o debate sobre comunicação e governança do risco em áreas contaminadas por chumbo

This investigation focused on lead contamination case studies in Brazil. The situations studied involve communities living in Santo Amaro da Purificacao and Adrianopolis, in the north-east and south of Brazil, respectively. These communities have all had to live with environmental contamination and human exposure to lead as a consequence of industrial, mining and processing activities that were conducted by the same company for decades in a manner inconsistent with modern mining and industrial standards, with little control of environmental and human health impacts. The investigation sought to analyze the strategies of risk communication to local people, and to evaluate their engagement in risk management. The methodological approach included the analysis of newspaper articles, and interviews conducted with different stakeholders, such as residents, journalists, researchers and authorities. The results indicated the need to promote public involvement in the debate and in the decision-making process. The results also confirmed the hypothesis that associative models (represented by local neighborhood associations, for instance) are important for promoting and eliciting public participation in risk management.

Comunicação e governança do risco: A experiência brasileira em áreas contaminadas por chumbo

Considering the contemporary debate on themes involving risk situations in contaminated areas, some relevant concepts about risk communication and risk governance are discussed in this article. A critical analysis of two case studies on communities exposed to lead Brazil is presented: in Adrianopolis (Ribeira Valley, State of Parana) and Santo Amaro da Purificacao (State of Bahia).

Medical Geology Studies in South America

“Earth and Health” or medical geology has been promoted worldwide as one of the fundamental themes of the International Year of Planet Earth (2007–2009). This was in response to relevant achievements noted in this new field of applied science from the time of the IGCP 454 project which led to foundation of the International Medical Geology Association (IMGA) in 2004. In association with international movements, several academic, professional, and student groups in South America began to study medical geology which started with scientific meetings held in Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay in 2002 and 2003. In this chapter, an attempt is made to describe South American scientists’ relevant contributions to various subjects such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and selenium as well as fluorine and environmental problems affecting different parts of the continent. Some societal issues arising from medical geology studies are also highlighted from the point of view of the international risk communication and risk governance debate and the pioneering ethnographic descriptions of geophagy in the Andean and Amazonian countries. Finally, some ongoing medical geology projects in South America are identified as inspiring initiatives that may encourage future educational and research activities in this science field.

Degradation of Mangrove Ecosystems Due to Shrimp Farming Activities and Its Conflicts of Interest in the State of Bahia, Brazil

Shrimp farming is the branch of aquaculture dedicated to the farming of crustaceans during all their stages of development. The marine shrimp Litopenaeusvannamei is the main species in this activity. Shrimp farming uses brackish water from mangrove ecosystems as its main resource due to its ideal quality. However, this practice causes several environmental impacts such as the deforestation of mangrove forests for implementing ponds and also legal conflicts that currently favor this type of aquaculture activity in areas with environmental restrictions. Communities that live in the surrounding areas of shrimp farms are also impacted by the activity due to the difficulty they have in accessing the mangroves where they carry out traditional and artisanal shellfish gathering.