Avian blood and feathers as biological tools to track impacts from trace-metals: Bioaccumulation data from the biggest environmental disaster in Brazilian history

The collapse of the Fundão tailings dam at Mariana (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil) started a huge human tragedy and likely the most serious environmental disaster in recent Brazilian history. The dam had contained waste from processing iron ore from mines owned by Samarco, a joint venture company of the Brazilian Vale S.A. and the Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton Ltd. Following ineffective attempts to contain the disaster, after 16 days the mud flood reached the sea, where its impact is expected to affect thousands of marine fauna and flora species. Here, we provide an example of one of these species, the cnidarian Kishinouyea corbini Larson 1980 (Staurozoa), emblematic because it is extremely rare, poorly studied, and its known distribution overlaps the threatened area on the Brazilian coast. Based on this case, we discuss the need for efforts to monitor and minimize the possible impacts of this socio-environmental crime, as well as to identify and punish all responsible players in this tragedy, including negligent licensing and supervisory state agencies, in order to prevent future similar tragedies.

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O ROMPIMENTO DA BARRAGEM DE FUNDÃO EM MARIANA/MG E A PROTEÇÃO DOS DESLOCADOS AMBIENTAIS: UMA ANÁLISE POR MEIO DE PESQUISA DE CAMPO

Revista Juridica ◽

10.21902/revistajur.2316-753x.v2i55.3399 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (55) ◽

pp. 351

Author(s):

Leonardo Da Rocha de SOUZA ◽

Carolina PAAZ

Keyword(s):

Deliberative Democracy ◽

Field Research ◽

Point Of View ◽

Displaced Persons ◽

Case Study Method ◽

Environmental Disaster ◽

Environmental Disasters ◽

Open Questions ◽

Brazilian History

RESUMO Este texto aborda uma das maiores tragédias ambientais da história do Brasil, o rompimento da barragem da Samarco em Mariana/MG, sob a ótica dos deslocamentos ambientais, tendo elementos conceituais e técnicos para abordar o problema. Procura-se analisar os conceitos polêmicos dos termos utilizados que designam pessoas atingidas por desastres ambientais, a falta de terminologia adequada para os deslocados ambientais, bem como analisar quais são os instrumentos que garantem os direitos básicos dessa população deslocada. Para isso, sob olhar epistemológico hermenêutico-dialético, utiliza-se o método do estudo de caso com a técnica da pesquisa de campo realizada com pessoas atingidas pelo rompimento da barragem, tendo com linha condutora um roteiro com questões abertas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Desastre ambiental; Deslocados ambientais; Barragem de Fundão; Mariana/MG; Democracia deliberativa. ABSTRACTThis text addresses one of the greatest environmental tragedies in Brazilian history, the rupture of the Samarco dam in Mariana / MG, from the point of view of environmental dislocations, with conceptual and technical elements to address the problem. It seeks to analyze the controversial concepts of terms used to describe people affected by environmental disasters, the lack of adequate terminology for environmental displaced persons, and to analyze which are the instruments that guarantee the basic rights of this displaced population. For this, under the hermeneutic-dialectic epistemological approach, the case study method is used with the field research technique performed with people affected by the rupture of the dam, with a line with a script with open questions. KEYWORDS: Environmental disaster; Environmental Displacement; Fundão dam; Mariana/MG; Deliberative democracy.

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Trace metals in the water and margin sediments of the Rio Doce Basin in Linhares municipality, ES, Brazil

Archives of Ecotoxicology ◽

10.36547/ae.2020.2.1.1-11 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Polyana Silverio Massario ◽

Cláudia Carvalhinho Windmöller ◽

Juliano Souza Ribeiro ◽

Jose Maria Rodrigues Luz ◽

Mauro Cesar Dias

Keyword(s):

Trace Metals ◽

River Flow ◽

Wet Season ◽

Environmental Disaster ◽

Level Ii ◽

Guideline Values ◽

Minas Gerais State ◽

Freshwater Source ◽

High River Flow ◽

Mn Concentrations

The Rio Doce Basin (DRB) is the largest freshwater source in Espírito Santo (ES) state, Brazil. In November 2015, the disruption of the iron tailings dam in the Mariana municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, severely affected this river. In this study, we showed the trace metals concentrations in the water and margin sediments of the DRB during the dry and wet seasons. This new data was obtained in 2011, prior to the environmental disaster caused by disruption of the dams. We observed Cr, Ni and Pb contaminations in the sediments. The concentrations of these elements in the high river flow (wet season) were higher than the guideline values (GV) of level II and geoacumulation Index (Igeo). However, Fe and Mn concentrations were well above the GV in the wet season. The levels of these two elements were lower than the values found in the region's Haplic Cambisol. Furthermore, the comparison between our data and those of the technical reports released after the dams rupture shows that iron ore mine tailings greatly alter the trace metals concentration in water and sediments. However, we have observed a trend of resilience that requires more systematic and careful studies in DRB.

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Bioavailability and ecological risks of trace metals in bottom sediments from Doce river continental shelf before and after the biggest environmental disaster in Brazil: The collapse of the Fundão dam

Journal of Environmental Management ◽

10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111086 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 272 ◽

pp. 111086

Author(s):

Valquíria Maria de Carvalho Aguiar ◽

José Antônio Baptista Neto ◽

Valéria da Silva Quaresma ◽

Alex Cardoso Bastos ◽

João Pedro Moreno de Athayde

Keyword(s):

Trace Metals ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

Bottom Sediments ◽

Ecological Risks ◽

Environmental Disaster ◽

Before And After ◽

Doce River

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XRF and PIXE Analysis of light and Dark Adapted Ocular Tissue

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100053619 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 190-191

Author(s):

B. J. Panessa ◽

H. W. Kraner ◽

J. B. Warren ◽

K. W. Jones

Keyword(s):

Trace Metals ◽

Pigment Epithelium ◽

Nerve Impulse ◽

Light Response ◽

Ocular Tissue ◽

Emission Spectrometry ◽

Retinol Dehydrogenase ◽

Pixe Analysis ◽

X Ray ◽

Optimal Function

During photoexcitation the retina requires specific electrolytes and trace metals for optimal function (Na, Mg, Cl, K, Ca, S, P, Cu and Zn). According to Hagins (1981), photoexcitation and generation of a nerve impulse involves the movement of Ca from the rhodopsin-ladened membranes of the rod outer segment (ROS) to the plasmalemma, which in turn decreases the in-flow of Na into the photoreceptor, resulting in hyperpolarization. In toad isolated retinas, the presence of Ba has been found to increase the amplitude and prolong the delay of the light response (Brown and Flaming, 1978). Trace metals such as Cu, Zn and Se are essential for the activity of the metalloenzymes of the retina and retina pigment epithelium (RPE) (i.e. carbonic anhydrase, retinol dehydrogenase, tyrosinase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase...). Therefore the content and fluctuations of these elements in the retina and choroid are of fundamental importance for the maintenance of vision. This paper presents elemental data from light and dark adapted frog ocular tissues examined by electron beam induced x-ray microanalysis, x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and proton induced x-ray emission spectrometry (PIXE).

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Identifying Sources of Sulfate Aerosols Reaching Whiteface Mountain, NY

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100117546 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 98-101

Author(s):

James S. Webber

Keyword(s):

Trace Metals ◽

Acid Deposition ◽

Surface Waters ◽

Dry Deposition ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Sulfate Aerosols ◽

Wet And Dry Deposition ◽

Whiteface Mountain ◽

Toxic Trace Metals

INTRODUCTION“Acid rain” and “acid deposition” are terms no longer confined to the lexicon of atmospheric scientists and 1imnologists. Public awareness of and concern over this phenomenon, particularly as it affects acid-sensitive regions of North America, have increased dramatically in the last five years. Temperate ecosystems are suffering from decreased pH caused by acid deposition. Human health may be directly affected by respirable sulfates and by the increased solubility of toxic trace metals in acidified waters. Even man's monuments are deteriorating as airborne acids etch metal and stone features.Sulfates account for about two thirds of airborne acids with wet and dry deposition contributing equally to acids reaching surface waters or ground. The industrial Midwest is widely assumed to be the source of most sulfates reaching the acid-sensitive Northeast since S02 emitted as a byproduct of coal combustion in the Midwest dwarfs S02 emitted from all sources in the Northeast.

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