Simone Georges El Khouri Miraglia

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.

Lean diesel technology and human health: a case study in six Brazilian metropolitan regions

OBJECTIVE: Due to their toxicity, diesel emissions have been submitted to progressively more restrictive regulations in developed countries. However, in Brazil, the implementation of the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy (Euro IV standards for vehicles produced in 2009 and low-sulfur diesel with 50 ppm of sulfur) was postponed until 2012 without a comprehensive analysis of the effect of this delay on public health parameters. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the delay in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy on health indicators and monetary health costs in Brazil. METHODS: The primary estimator of exposure to air pollution was the concentration of ambient fine particulate matter (particles with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 µm, [PM2.5]). This parameter was measured daily in six Brazilian metropolitan areas during 2007-2008. We calculated 1) the projected reduction in the PM2.5 that would have been achieved if the Euro IV standards had been implemented in 2009 and 2) the expected reduction after implementation in 2012. The difference between these two time curves was transformed into health outcomes using previous dose-response curves. The economic valuation was performed based on the DALY (disability-adjusted life years) method. RESULTS: The delay in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy will result in an estimated excess of 13,984 deaths up to 2040. Health expenditures are projected to be increased by nearly US

Custos da poluição atmosférica nas regiões metropolitanas brasileiras

11.5 billion for the same period. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that a significant health burden will occur because of the postponement in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy. These results also reinforce the concept that health effects must be considered when revising fuel and emission policies.

Health Impact Assessment of Air Pollution in São Paulo, Brazil

This study evaluated the economic impact of health events associated with air pollution in Brazilian metropolitan regions. From the estimated mortality attributable to concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in 29 metropolitan areas, with a total of 20,050 deaths, the costs associated with mortality were calculated by means of the use of DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Years) methodology. The cost of premature deaths in Brazil resulted in

Arquivos abertos e instrumentos de gestão da qualidade como recursos para a disseminação da informação científica em segurança e saúde no trabalho

1.7 billion annually. Translating losses in public health to economic values served to compare this data with the expense budget of the Ministry of Health and highlight priorities in decision-making of public policies that minimize the magnitude of these impacts.

Ecosystem services of the Guarapiranga Reservoir watershed (São Paulo, Brazil): value of water supply and implications for management strategies

Epidemiological research suggests that air pollution may cause chronic diseases, as well as exacerbation of related pathologies such as cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity and mortality. This study evaluates air pollution scenarios considering a Health Impact Assessment approach in São Paulo, Brazil. We have analyzed abatement scenarios of Particulate Matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm (PM10), <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ozone concentrations and the health effects on respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the period from 2009 to 2011 through the APHEKOM tool, as well as the associated health costs. Considering World Health Organization (WHO) standards of PM2.5 (10 μg/m3), São Paulo would avoid more than 5012 premature deaths (equivalent to 266,486 life years’ gain) and save US

Health Impact Assessment of the construction of hydroelectric dams in Brazil

15.1 billion annually. If São Paulo could even diminish the mean of PM2.5 by 5 μg/m3, nearly 1724 deaths would be avoided, resulting in a gain of US

Avaliação de impacto à saúde da poluição do ar no município de Diadema, Brasil

4.96 billion annually. Reduced levels of PM10, PM2.5 and ozone could save lives and an impressive amount of money in a country where economic resources are scarce. Moreover, the reduced levels of air pollution would also lower the demand for hospital care, since hospitalizations would diminish. In this sense, Brazil should urgently adopt WHO air pollution standards in order to improve the quality of life of its population.

Avaliação de Impacto à Saúde (AIS) no Brasil e América Latina: uma ferramenta essencial a projetos, planos e políticas

O objetivo do estudo foi apresentar a utilizacao da filosofia de arquivos abertos, aliada aos instrumentos de gestao da qualidade, PDCA e 5S, como um dos pilares para a gestao da seguranca e saude no trabalho (SST). O metodo de pesquisa se constituiu no levantamento bibliografico, juntamente com uma sessao de entrevistas com 23 profissionais ligados a gestao da SST, que permitiu o delineamento do grau de acesso e a percepcao destes sobre a informacao cientifica. A analise qualitativa e quantitativa dos questionarios apontou a iniciativa de arquivos abertos, por meio da utilizacao de repositorios digitais de informacoes, como um instrumento de apoio a gestao da seguranca e saude no trabalho, bem como identificou a necessidade do desenvolvimento de politicas de incentivo a geracao e compartilhamento do capital intelectual entre a comunidade em questao encorajando a construcao de um repositorio digital na area de SST, visando sobretudo a preservacao da integridade fisica e mental do trabalhador. Constatou-se que a carencia de informacoes disponiveis na area em questao ainda e uma barreira para a gestao do conhecimento organizacional, no sentido de promover o desenvolvimento do trabalho seguro e saudavel nas organizacoes.