Maria Izabel de Freitas Filhote

Lixo, trabalho e saúde: um estudo de caso com catadores em um aterro metropolitano no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

This article presents the results of a study on the lives, work, and health conditions of garbage pickers in the largest metropolitan landfill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Using a semi-structured questionnaire with open-ended and closed questions, the study interviewed these individuals and developed a discussion of their daily lives, work, and health conditions. According to a quantitative-qualitative analysis, the garbage pickers identified garbage as a source of survival and defined health simply as the ability to work. They thus tended to neglect the relationship between work and health. However, the risks and reported morbidity highlighted the hazardous nature of this activity, aggravated by their living and housing conditions. Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of establishing public policies that integrate different dimensions of the problem, such as social inclusion, environmental preservation, public health, and the dignity of these workers.

Strategies for Preventing Adolescent Mercury Exposure in Brazilian Gold Mining Areas

Because gold is found in a powdered form, the use of mercury is necessary to form a mercury/ gold amalgam to make the extraction easier, normally at a 1/1 proportion. Thus for each kilogram of gold, an average of one kilogram of mercury is used. This proportion may vary from 0.8-1.3 (Pfeiffer, 1988; Couto, Camara and Sabrosa, 1988; Ferreira and Appel, 1990). In 1989 alone, mercury imports reached 339.9 tons (Hasse, 1993).

Metodologia para prevenir exposição ao mercúrio em adolescentes de garimpos de ouro em Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brasil

The main objective of this study was to promote the evaluation of an educational method to identify health risks among adolescents exposed to mercury by their work in gold mining production.The project was carried out with adolescents from a public school from the District of Monsenhor Horta, Municipality of Mariana, state of Minas Gerais. Statistical evaluation of the results revealed a significant increase in the amount of correct answers between the first and fifth stage concerning the definition of work accidents and its importance in relation to work-related diseases, accidents on route to and from the work place and violence at work site itself.