GOOD WATER, BUT FOR WHOM? A STUDY ON THE PERCEPTION OF WATER QUALITY BY AMAZONIAN POPULATIONS

In Brazil different regions have inadequate water and sewage treatment facilities, which can be made worse by the installation of large enterprises. The perception of these populations about the scenario in which they live is of great relevance in this context, the present study has the objective of analyzing the socioenvironmental profile and the perception of the water quality and its relation to health damage by populations resident from the area of Belo Monte hydropower plant. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 268 residents of two cities in the interior of Pará-Brazil and the data were obtained from the application of a semi-structured questionnaire. The results showed that the interviewees had minimal education and were low income. Most interviewees reported having running water in their home. However, 63.1% of the interviewees considered the water provided as organoleptically altered and of poor quality. Of the interviewees, 92.5% stated that their water is mainly from wells; 94.8% perceived a relationship between decreasing water quality and increasing health problems. Of these, 85.2% related to the decrease in water quality with renal problems, 75% with liver problems and 28% with hypertension. About 61.6% of respondents reported concerns about lack of basic sanitation. It is concluded that the populations studied understand the importance of quality water consumption and relate water quality to health problems. Therefore, these results serve as an alert to managers regarding the urgent need to improve the quality of life of this population. Keywords: Pará, sewage systems, drinking water, health, chronic disease.    RESUMO :No Brasil, diferentes regiões têm instalações inadequadas de tratamento de água e esgoto, o que pode ser agravado pela instalação de grandes empresas. A percepção dessas populações sobre o cenário em que vivem é de grande relevância neste contexto, o presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar o perfil socioambiental e a percepção da qualidade da água e sua relação com danos à saúde por populações residentes da área. da usina hidrelétrica de Belo Monte. Um estudo transversal foi realizado com 268 moradores de duas cidades do interior do Pará-Brasil e os dados foram obtidos a partir da aplicação de um questionário semiestruturado. Os resultados mostraram que os entrevistados tinham educação mínima e baixa renda. A maioria dos entrevistados relatou ter água encanada em casa. No entanto, 63,1% dos entrevistados consideraram a água fornecida como organoléptica- mente alterada e de má qualidade. Dos entrevistados, 92,5% afirmaram que a água é proveniente principalmente de poços; 94,8% perceberam uma relação entre diminuir a qualidade da água e aumentar os problemas de saúde. Destes, 85,2% relacionaram-se à diminuição da qualidade da água com problemas renais, 75% com problemas hepáticos e 28% com hipertensão. Cerca de 61,6% dos entrevistados relataram preocupações sobre a falta de saneamento básico. Conclui-se que as populações estudadas entendem a importância do consumo de água de qualidade e relacionam a qualidade da água a problemas de saúde. Portanto, esses resultados servem de alerta para os gestores quanto à necessidade urgente de melhorar a qualidade de vida dessa população. Palavras-chave: Pará, sistemas de esgoto, água potável, saúde, doença crônic

Tools used to estimate soil quality in coal combustion waste areas

Soil is a highly complex environmental compartment that has suffered with the contamination of substances of various origins. Among the main activities that affect soil quality are power generation activities that use fossil fuels, such as mineral coal. Environmental protection agencies encourage scientific investigations using tools described in legal devices or standard protocols to evaluate the potential of coal as a pollutant, especially in places that have large reserves of this mineral like the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The aim of this study was to characterize the leached extracts of different soils from an area influenced by coal waste, to classify them according to the guideline values for groundwater described in CONAMA's n. 420/2009, and to estimate the effects of the leachates ingestion in DNA mutation rates. The volume of soil needed to induce a 100% increase in the spontaneous mutation rate varied between 129.3 and 1544.1 mg of soil among the soils studied. Metals such as Mn, Pb, Cd and Ni surpassed the investigation limits for groundwater at least in one soil sample. The results showed that there can be transfer of soil contaminants to groundwater and soil intake in the area could contribute to the increased mutagenic risk

Hematological profile as a crude oil exposure-related marker in wild rodents

The toxicity of petroleum components is well described in the literature, especially with regard to mutagenic and carcinogenic effects. In some groups of animals, such as birds, oil exposure seems to alter blood parameters, while this relationship is poorly understood in rodents. The study aimed to investigate alterations in hematological profile in the wild rodent Calomys laucha exposed to crude oil contaminated soils. In this study, males specimens of Calomys laucha were exposed for 14 days to two soils contaminated by petroleum: (I) landfarming soil, coming from a bioremediation area of contaminated soil from a Petrochemical Complex through landfarming technique and (II) soil of a simulated oil spill in laboratory conditions. The animals were exposed individually in cages containing 1 kg soil with free access to food and water. Control animals were exposed to an artificial uncontaminated soil. At the end of the experiment, animals were anesthetized and blood was collected for hematological profile. The animals exposed to soil landfarming had significant reduction in the number of bands, segmented, eosinophils, monocytes, lymphocytes and increased red cell distribution width (RDW), while animals exposed to simulated soil spillage in laboratory had decreased number of bands, but an increase in the number of lymphocytes and platelets. These changes in hemostasis may indicate an early stage of the development of associated pathologies, while the hematological profile can be used as a crude oil exposure-related marker in wild rodents