Luis Fernando Amato-Lourenço

Evaluation of the air quality benefits of the subway system in São Paulo, Brazil

Air pollution is a severe problem in major urban areas due to increasing numbers of vehicles, reduced road capacity and few investments in public transportation, especially in developing countries. Public transportation has a special role in avoiding congestion and consequent environmental and health impacts but is considered expensive. The objective of this paper was to analyze the benefits of the São Paulo subway in terms of the air pollution in the city through strikes events, analyzing both the health outcomes and the related economic burden. For the strike events, increases in air pollutant concentrations during the strike day was observed when compared to a similar day in terms of day of the week and meteorological conditions. Increases in mortality were also observed and the associated economic burden calculated. Despite the elevated construction and operation costs of the subway, when environment and social values are considered, cost-benefit analysis results would indicate a worthwhile investment. The consideration of these aspects is essential to sustainable transportation analyses, and in the case of the São Paulo subway, our analysis clearly demonstrated the important role of this system in the citys environmental, social and economic attributes.

Follow-up of the air pollution and the human male-to-female ratio analysis in Sao Paulo, Brazil: a times series study.

Objectives In order to assess if ambient air pollution in urban areas could be related to alterations in male/female ratio this study objectives to evaluate changes in ambient particulate matter (PM10) concentrations after implementation of pollution control programmes in São Paulo city and the secondary sex ratio (SRR). Design and methods A time series study was conducted. São Paulo’s districts were stratified according to the PM10 concentrations levels and were used as a marker of overall air pollution. The male ratio was chosen to represent the secondary sex ratio (SSR=total male birth/total births). The SSR data from each area was analysed according to the time variation and PM10 concentration areas using descriptive statistics. The strength association between annual average of PM10 concentration and SSR was performed through exponential regression, and it was adopted as a statistical significance level of p<0.05. Results The exponential regression showed a negative and significant association between PM10 and SSR. SSR varied from 51.4% to 50.7% in São Paulo in the analysed period (2000–2007). Considering the PM10 average concentration in São Paulo city of 44.72 μg/m3 in the study period, the SSR decline reached almost 4.37%, equivalent to 30 934 less male births. Conclusions Ambient levels of PM10 are negatively associated with changes in the SSR. Therefore, we can speculate that higher levels of particulate pollution could be related to increased rates of female births.

The influence of atmospheric particles on the elemental content of vegetables in urban gardens of Sao Paulo, Brazil ☆

Although urban horticulture provides multiple benefits to society, the extent to which these vegetables are contaminated by the absorption of chemical elements derived from atmospheric deposition is unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the influence of air pollution on leafy vegetables in community gardens of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Vegetable seedlings of Brassica oleracea var. acephala (collard greens) and Spinacia oleracea (spinach) obtained in a non-polluted rural area and growing in vessels containing standard uncontaminated soil were exposed for three consecutive periods of 30, 60 and 90 days in 10 community gardens in Sao Paulo and in one control site. The concentrations of 17 chemical elements (traffic-related elements and those essential to plant biology) were quantified by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Tillandsia usneoides L. specimens were used as air plant biomonitors. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr and Pb found in vegetables were compared to the recommended values for consumption. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to cluster the elemental concentrations, and Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were employed to evaluate the association of the factor scores from each PCA component with variables such as local weather, traffic burden and vertical barriers adjacent to the gardens. We found significant differences in the elemental concentrations of the vegetables in the different community gardens. These differences were related to the overall traffic burden, vertical obstacles and local weather. The Pb and Cd concentrations in both vegetables exceeded the limit values for consumption after 60 days of exposure. A strong correlation was observed between the concentration of traffic-related elements in vegetables and in Tillandsia usneoides L. An exposure response was observed between traffic burden and traffic-derived particles absorbed in the vegetables. Traffic-derived air pollution directly influences the absorption of chemical elements in leafy vegetables, and the levels of these elements may exceed the recommended values for consumption.

The effects of particulate matter on inflammation of respiratory system: Differences between male and female

Air pollution is known to exacerbate respiratory diseases and epidemiological studies have shown that women present more chronic respiratory symptoms than man exposed to traffic pollution, however, the reason why is unclear. This study evaluated the inflammatory differences in BALB/c mouse males (n=34) and females (n=111) in three phases of the estrous cycle that were exposed to ambient air (AA) or concentrated ambient particles (CAPs). Tracheal hyperreactivity to methacholine, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and immunohistochemical of airways and lung parenchyma were studied. Hyperreactivity increased in CAPs-exposed female mice compared with AA-exposed mice in estrus (p<0.05) and proestrus phases (p<0.05) and decreased in CAPs-exposed males compared with those exposed to AA (p<0.05). Males had increased numbers of total cells (p=0.037) and macrophages (p=0.028) compared to females. BALF levels of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) (p=0.000), transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α) (p=0.001) and IL-8 receptor alpha (IL-8Rα) (p=0.014) were increased in males compared with proestrus, estrus and diestrus females, independent of exposure. Proestrus females exhibited significantly higher cadherin expression in lung parenchyma than did males (p=0.005). CAPs exposure increased matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) (p=0.024) and isoprostane (p=0.003) expression in the airways of both, males and females. The level of substance P (SP) (p=0.001) increased in lung parenchyma in males compared with females, while IL-17 levels in airways (p=0.042) and in lung parenchyma (p=0.008) increased in females. MMP-9 levels (p=0.024) were significantly lower in the lung parenchyma of CAPs-exposed females. TGF-α (p=0.007) levels increased in the lung parenchyma of CAPs-exposed females compared to AA-exposed females. These results suggest that inflammatory markers differentially expressed in male mice were mostly linked to acute inflammation (IL-1β, IL-8Rα, COX-2), whereas in females, markers that may lead to a chronic inflammatory process such as IL-17 and remodeling (MMP-9) were increased.

Effectiveness of traffic-related elements in tree bark and pollen abortion rates for assessing air pollution exposure on respiratory mortality rates

The majority of epidemiological studies correlate the cardiorespiratory effects of air pollution exposure by considering the concentrations of pollutants measured from conventional monitoring networks. The conventional air quality monitoring methods are expensive, and their data are insufficient for providing good spatial resolution. We hypothesized that bioassays using plants could effectively determine pollutant gradients, thus helping to assess the risks associated with air pollution exposure. The study regions were determined from different prevalent respiratory death distributions in the Sao Paulo municipality. Samples of tree flower buds were collected from twelve sites in four regional districts. The genotoxic effects caused by air pollution were tested through a pollen abortion bioassay. Elements derived from vehicular traffic that accumulated in tree barks were determined using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF). Mortality data were collected from the mortality information program of Sao Paulo City. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the concentrations of elements accumulated in tree barks. Pearson correlation and exponential regression were performed considering the elements, pollen abortion rates and mortality data. PCA identified five factors, of which four represented elements related to vehicular traffic. The elements Al, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn showed a strong correlation with mortality rates (R2>0.87) and pollen abortion rates (R2>0.82). These results demonstrate that tree barks and pollen abortion rates allow for correlations between vehicular traffic emissions and associated outcomes such as genotoxic effects and mortality data.

Respiratory Condition of Family Farmers Exposed to Pesticides in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pesticide exposure is a growing public health concern. Although Brazil is the world’s largest consumer of pesticides, only a few studies have addressed the health effects among farmers. This study aimed to evaluate whether pesticide exposure is associated with respiratory outcomes among rural workers and relatives in Brazil during the crop and off-seasons. Family farmers (82) were interviewed about occupational history and respiratory symptoms, and cholinesterase tests were conducted in the crop-season. Spirometry was performed during the crop and off-season. Respiratory outcomes were compared between seasons and multiple regressions analysis were conducted to search for associations with exposure indicators. Participants were occupationally and environmentally exposed to multiple pesticides from an early age. During the crop and off-season, respectively, they presented a prevalence of 40% and 30.7% for cough, 30.7% and 24% for nasal allergies, and 24% and 17.3% for chest tightness. Significant associations between spirometry impairments and exposure indicators were found both during the crop and off-season. These findings provide complementary evidence about the association of pesticide exposure with adverse respiratory effects among family farmers in Brazil. This situation requires special attention as it may increase the risk of pulmonary dysfunctions, and the morbidity and mortality burden associated with these diseases.

The use of tree barks to monitor traffic related air pollution: a case study in São Paulo - Brazil

The analysis of chemical elements in the barks of trees is an alternative procedure to access spatial heterogeneity of traffic related air pollution. However, the role of tree species in the characterization of the variability of airborne pollution is poorly known. We present an observational study conducted in Sao Paulo, Brazil, based on the analysis of 498 trees from three common species: Tipuana tipu, Poincianella pluviosa and Ligustrum sp.. We considered ANCOVA models to compare the concentrations of Al, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ba and S in the bark of trees located close to streets with different levels of traffic intensity controlling for the extension of nearby green areas. The expected trend of increasing elemental concentration in the bark of trees located near streets with greater traffic intensity or close to smaller green areas was only fully evidenced by T. tipu. For instance, the concentrations of Zn, Fe, Al and Ba increase by 200%, 350%, 230% and 280% respectively, for trees of this species located near arterial streets when compared to those observed near local streets. On the other hand, the concentrations of Zn, Fe, Al and Ba are reduced by 41%, 45% 50%, 30%, respectively, for trees located near green areas. For P. pluviosa, the capacity to suggest an association between the tree bark concentration of chemical elements with increasing levels of air pollution and presence of green areas was only fully observed for Zn and Cu. For Ligustrum sp., weaker and sometimes non-expected associations between bark concentrations of the chemical elements and either street classification or green area extension were observed. Our results indicate that the choice of species is a key element in the use of tree barks as a biomonitoring tool in urban landscapes. Species like T. tipu, with rough and highly porous bark, are the most appropriate for such purpose.

Influence of air pollution and soil contamination on the contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in vegetables grown in urban gardens of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Urban community gardens (UCGs) have become prevalent worldwide and play a significant role in strengthening the sustainability of urban food systems. Although UCGs provide multiple benefits to society, the extent to which vegetables grown in them are contaminated by chemical compounds derived from airborne fallout or soil contamination is unclear. We evaluated the influence of both air pollution and the contamination of garden soil beds on the contents of 16 PAHs in the edible tissues of spinach and collard green. The PAH contents were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS-EI). The concentrations of PAHs in both the vegetables grown in the vessels and in the soil of the UCGs were <0.1 μg kg-1. The total concentrations of the 16 priority PAHs in the soil beds ranged from 132.94 to 410.50 µg kg-1. These levels were lower than those that have been reported from other urban areas. Principal Component Analysis resulted in two components indicating that traffic-derived emissions are the main sources of PAHs in the soil. The first component represented the compounds with higher molecular weights and had a moderate loading for the fine fraction of the soil (clay) (0.63). The second component showed a high loading for silt (0.97), including those PAHs with lower molecular weights. Our data show that spinach and collard greens do not accumulate significant PAH concentrations on their leaves over 45-day periods, whether they are raised in controlled soil or in local beds.

Metrópoles, cobertura vegetal, áreas verdes e saúde

A falta de planejamento no processo de urbanizacao das grandes metropoles tem produzido numerosas externalidades negativas, entre elas a supressao de sua cobertura vegetal e de areas verdes. Inumeros beneficios tem sido reportados sobre como a presenca da vegetacao no meio ambiente urbano favorece fatores ambientais, sociais e economicos, influenciando na saude da populacao. O presente trabalho busca apresentar uma serie de estudos com enfoque na associacao entre areas verdes e saude e tambem uma sucinta reflexao sobre a importância do assunto no municipio de Sao Paulo.