Effect on Antimicrobial Resistance of a Policy Restricting Over-the-Counter Antimicrobial Sales in a Large Metropolitan Area, São Paulo, Brazil

Air pollution is one of the main environmental problems in large urban centers, affecting people’s health and impacting quality of life. The Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) presents frequent exceedances of air-quality standards in inhalable particulate matter (PM10), a consequence of pollutant emissions modulated by meteorological conditions. This study aims to identify and characterize PM10persistent exceedance events (PEE) inthe MASP between 2005 and 2017, relating them to meteorological conditions. The criteria used to select the events were: (i) events that occurred in at least 50% of the air-quality monitoring stations chosen for this study and, (ii) among the events that met the first criterion, those with a duration equal to or greater than five days, which correspond to the 80% percentile of the event duration distribution. A total 71 persistent episodes of exceedance were selected. The results show that the exceedance of PM10 lasted up to 14 consecutive days and was predominant in the austral winter, accompanied by an increase in maximum temperature (T), a decrease in wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH), and a wind direction predominantly from the northwest during the peak concentration of the pollutant. On average, a concentration increase of 60% was observed at the peak of the PEE.

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Impact of vehicular emissions on the formation of fine particles in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area: a numerical study with the WRF-Chem model

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-777-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 777-797 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

A Vara-Vela ◽

M. F. Andrade ◽

P. Kumar ◽

R. Y. Ynoue ◽

A. G. Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Size Distribution ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Vehicular Emissions ◽

São Paulo ◽

Mass Size Distribution ◽

Mass Size ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of vehicular emissions on the formation of fine particles (PM2.5; ≤  2.5 µm in diameter) in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA) in Brazil, where ethanol is used intensively as a fuel in road vehicles. The Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model, which simulates feedbacks between meteorological variables and chemical species, is used as a photochemical modelling tool to describe the physico-chemical processes leading to the evolution of number and mass size distribution of particles through gas-to-particle conversion. A vehicular emission model based on statistical information of vehicular activity is applied to simulate vehicular emissions over the studied area. The simulation has been performed for a 1-month period (7 August–6 September 2012) to cover the availability of experimental data from the NUANCE-SPS (Narrowing the Uncertainties on Aerosol and Climate Changes in Sao Paulo State) project that aims to characterize emissions of atmospheric aerosols in the SPMA. The availability of experimental measurements of atmospheric aerosols and the application of the WRF-Chem model made it possible to represent some of the most important properties of fine particles in the SPMA such as the mass size distribution and chemical composition, besides allowing us to evaluate its formation potential through the gas-to-particle conversion processes. Results show that the emission of primary gases, mostly from vehicles, led to a production of secondary particles between 20 and 30 % in relation to the total mass concentration of PM2.5 in the downtown SPMA. Each of PM2.5 and primary natural aerosol (dust and sea salt) contributed with 40–50 % of the total PM10 (i.e. those ≤  10 µm in diameter) concentration. Over 40 % of the formation of fine particles, by mass, was due to the emission of hydrocarbons, mainly aromatics. Furthermore, an increase in the number of small particles impaired the ultraviolet radiation and induced a decrease in ozone formation. The ground-level O3 concentration decreased by about 2 % when the aerosol-radiation feedback is taken into account.

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Mental disorders and employment status in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil: gender differences and use of health services

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/0102-311x00154116 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (9) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mariane Henriques França ◽

Sandhi Maria Barreto ◽

Flavia Garcia Pereira ◽

Laura Helena Silveira Guerra de Andrade ◽

Maria Cristina Alochio de Paiva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Disorders ◽

Health Services ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Employment Status ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Composite International Diagnostic Interview ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Use Of Health Services

Abstract: Mental disorders are associated with employment status as significant predictors and as consequences of unemployment and early retirement. This study describes the estimates and associations of 12-month DSM-IV prevalence rates of mental disorders and use of health services with employment status by gender in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, Brazil. Data from the São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey was analyzed (n = 5,037). This is a population-based study assessing the prevalence and determinants of mental disorders among adults, using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The associations were estimated by odds ratios obtained through binomial and multinomial logistic regression. This study demonstrates that having mental disorders, especially mood disorders, is associated with being inactive or unemployed among men and inactive among women, but only having a substance use disorder is associated with being unemployed among women. Among those with mental disorders, seeking health care services is less frequent within unemployed.

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Physical-chemical characterization of the particulate matter inside two road tunnels in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-13-20839-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 20839-20883 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. Brito ◽

L. V. Rizzo ◽

P. Herckes ◽

P. C. Vasconcellos ◽

S. E. S. Caumo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Real Time ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Single Scattering ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Single Scattering Albedo ◽

Fuel Composition ◽

São Paulo ◽

Road Tunnels

Abstract. The notable increase in biofuel usage by the road transportation sector in Brazil during recent years has significantly altered the vehicular fuel composition. Consequently, many uncertainties are currently found in particulate matter vehicular emission profiles. In an effort to better characterize the emitted particulate matter, measurements of aerosol physical and chemical properties were undertaken inside two tunnels located in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA). The tunnels show very distinct fleet profiles: in the Jânio Quadros (JQ) tunnel, the vast majority of the circulating fleet are Light Duty Vehicles (LDVs), fuelled on average with the same amount of ethanol as gasoline. In the Rodoanel (RA) tunnel, the particulate emission is dominated by Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) fuelled with diesel (5% biodiesel). In the JQ tunnel, PM2.5 concentration was on average 52 μg m−3, with the largest contribution of Organic Mass (OM, 42%), followed by Elemental Carbon (EC, 17%) and Crustal elements (13%). Sulphate accounted for 7% of PM2.5 and the sum of other trace elements was 10%. In the RA tunnel, PM2.5 was on average 233 μg m−3, mostly composed of EC (52%) and OM (39%). Sulphate, crustal and the trace elements showed a minor contribution with 5%, 1% and 1%, respectively. The average OC:EC ratio in the JQ tunnel was 1.59 ± 0.09, indicating an important contribution of EC despite the high ethanol fraction in the fuel composition. In the RA tunnel, the OC:EC ratio was 0.49 ± 0.12, consistent with previous measurements of diesel fuelled HDVs. Besides bulk carbonaceous aerosol measurement, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) were quantified. The sum of the PAHs concentration was 56 ± 5 ng m−3 and 45 ± 9 ng m−3 in the RA and JQ tunnel, respectively. In the JQ tunnel, Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) ranged from 0.9 to 6.7 ng m−3 (0.02–0.1‰ of PM2.5) in the JQ tunnel whereas in the RA tunnel BaP ranged from 0.9 to 4.9 ng m−3 (0.004–0.02‰ of PM2.5), indicating an important relative contribution of LDVs emission to atmospheric BaP. Real-time measurements performed in both tunnels provided aerosol size distributions and optical properties. The average particle count yielded 73 000 cm−3 in the JQ tunnel and 366 000 cm−3 in the RA tunnel, with an average diameter of 48 nm in the former and 39 nm in the latter. Aerosol single scattering albedo, calculated from scattering and absorption observations in the JQ tunnel, showed a minimum value of 0.4 at the peak of the morning rush hour, reached 0.6 around noon and stabilized at 0.5 in the afternoon and evening. Such single scattering albedo range is close to other tunnel studies results, despite significant biofuel usage. Given the exceedingly high Black Carbon loadings in the RA tunnel, real time light absorption measurements were possible only in the JQ tunnel. Nevertheless, using EC measured from the filters a single scattering albedo of 0.32 for the RA tunnel has been estimated. The results presented here characterize particulate matter emitted from nearly 1 million vehicles fuelled with a considerable amount of biofuel, providing an unique experimental site worldwide.

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The Evolution of Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in the Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2016/8570581 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Flavia Noronha Dutra Ribeiro ◽

Delhi Teresa Paiva Salinas ◽

Jacyra Soares ◽

Amauri Pereira de Oliveira ◽

Regina Maura de Miranda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Monoxide ◽

Spatial Variability ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Heavy Traffic ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

São Paulo ◽

Federal Policies ◽

Weekly Cycle ◽

Co Concentration ◽

Two Peaks

The Environmental Agency of Sao Paulo has a large dataset of carbon monoxide measurements: 20 years of records in 18 automatic stations inside the metropolitan area. However, a thorough investigation on the time evolution of CO concentration tendency and cycles also considering spatial variability is lacking. The investigation consists of a trend line analysis, a periodogram analysis, a correlation between CO concentration and meteorological variables, and spatial distribution of CO concentration. Local and federal policies helped in decreasing CO concentrations and the highest decreasing rate was 0.7% per month. This tendency is lately stabilizing, since the vehicles fleet is increasing. CO most relevant cycles are annual and diurnal and a few series indicate a weekly cycle. Diurnal cycle shows two peaks, morning and evening rush hours, 1.2 and 1.1 ppm, respectively, in 2012. However, lately there is an extended evening peak (20 h to 23 h), related to changes in emission patterns. The spatial analysis showed that CO concentration has high spatial variability and is influenced by proximity to heavy traffic and vegetated areas. The present work indicates that several processes affect CO concentration and these results form a valuable basis for other studies involving air quality modeling, mitigation, and urban planning.

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