5 research outputs found
Micronucleus frequency in children exposed to biomass burning in the Brazilian Legal Amazon region: a control case study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Amazon represents an area of 61% of Brazilian territory and is undergoing major changes resulting from disorderly economic development, especially the advance of agribusiness. Composition of the atmosphere is controlled by several natural and anthropogenic processes, and emission from biomass burning is one with the major impact on human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate genotoxic potential of air pollutants generated by biomass burning through micronucleus assay in exfoliated buccal cells of schoolchildren in the Brazilian Amazon region.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted during the dry seasons in two regions of the Brazilian Amazon. The assay was carried out on buccal epithelial cells of 574 schoolchildren between 6-16 years old.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results show a significant difference between micronucleus frequencies in children exposed to biomass burning compared to those in a control area.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study demonstrated that in situ biomonitoring using a sensitive and low cost assay (buccal micronucleus assay) may be an important tool for monitoring air quality in remote regions. It is difficult to attribute the increase in micronuclei frequency observed in our study to any specific toxic element integrated in the particulate matters. However, the contribution of the present study lies in the evidence that increased exposure to fine particulate matter generates an increased micronuclei frequency in oral epithelial cells of schoolchildren.</p
Genotoxic potential generated by biomass burning in the Brazilian Legal Amazon by Tradescantia micronucleus bioassay: a toxicity assessment study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Brazilian Amazon has suffered impacts from non-sustainable economic development, especially owing to the expansion of agricultural commodities into forest areas. The Tangará da Serra region, located in the southern of the Legal Amazon, is characterized by non-mechanized sugar cane production. In addition, it lies on the dispersion path of the pollution plume generated by biomass burning. The aim of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of the atmosphere in the Tangará da Serra region, using <it>Tradescantia pallida </it>as <it>in situ </it>bioindicator.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted during the dry and rainy seasons, where the plants were exposed to two types of exposure, active and passive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that in all the sampling seasons, irrespective of exposure type, there was an increase in micronucleus frequency, compared to control and that it was statistically significant in the dry season. A strong and significant relationship was also observed between the increase in micronucleus incidence and the rise in fine particulate matter, and hospital morbidity from respiratory diseases in children.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on the results, we demonstrated that pollutants generated by biomass burning in the Brazilian Amazon can induce genetic damage in test plants that was more prominent during dry season, and correlated with the level of particulates and elevated respiratory morbidity.</p
Emissions generated by sugarcane burning promote genotoxicity in rural workers: a case study in Barretos, Brazil
Background: To determine the possible genotoxic effect of exposure to the smoke generated by biomass burning on workers involved in manual sugar cane harvesting.
Methods: The frequency of micronuclei in exfoliated buccal cells and peripheral blood lymphocytes was determined in sugarcane workers in the Barretos region of Brazil, during the harvest season and compared to a control population, comprised of administrative employees of Barretos Cancer Hospital.
Results: The frequency of micronuclei was higher in the sugar cane workers. The mean frequency in blood lymphocytes (micronuclei/1000 cells) in the test group was 8.22 versus 1.27 in the control group. The same effect was observed when exfoliated buccal cells were considered (22.75 and 9.70 micronuclei/1000 cells for sugar cane workers and controls, respectively).
Conclusion: Exposure to emissions produced by the burning of sugar cane during harvesting induces genomic instability in workers, indicating the necessity of adopting more advanced techniques of harvesting sugar cane to preserve human health.We thank the Researcher Support Center of Barretos Cancer Hospital, especially the statistician Zanardo C. for assisting in the statistical analysis. We thank Oliveira R. for technical support, and we acknowledge financial support from FAPESP Proc. 2010/10192-6