Cadmium, lead and mercury in the blood of workers from recycling sorting facilities in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Approximately 600,000 people work as recycling material collectors in Brazil and few studies evaluate the health risks involved in this occupation. The objective was to evaluate the blood levels of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) among workers from recycling sorting facilities (RSF) in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, compare the results with a non-occupationally exposed population, and identify factors associated with higher blood metal levels. Four RSF were selected and 226 collectors were examined for their blood metal levels and associated factors. The mean concentration of Cd (arithmetic mean - AM: 0.47µgL-1; geometric mean - GM: 0.34µgL-1) was almost four times higher than those found in a reference study. The generalized linear model (GLM) indicated that the “RSF where the collectors work”, “work in another occupation”, and “smoking” were statistically significant predictors of blood Cd levels. The Pb mean concentration (AM: 39.13µgL-1; GM: 34.11µgL-1) was also higher than the observed in the reference study (about 1.4 times) and its associated factors in the GLM were “the RSF where the collectors work”, “sex”, “smoking”, “age” and “meat consumption”. The Hg mean concentration (AM: 1.46µgL-1; GM: 0.94µgL-1) was not significantly higher than the reference population and its associated factors were “previous work in other RSF”, “fish consumption” and “years of work in the current RSF”. This study indicates that recycling material collectors have higher blood Cd and Pb levels compared to the general population.

Determinants of Exposure to Potentially Toxic Metals in Pregnant Women of the DSAN-12M Cohort in the Recôncavo Baiano, Brazil

“…Mean and median values in this study exceeded CdB levels in workers and populations living close to areas with a source of exposure. Ferron et al [ 6 ] reported in recycling sorting workers from São Paulo an arithmetic mean (0.47 μg/L) and median (0.44 μg/L) lower than our values (respectively, 0.81 and 0.55 µg/L). The control group of this study presented an average value 6.7 times lower than ours.…”

“…The control group of this study presented an average value 6.7 times lower than ours. Also worrying was the maximum value (7.61 μg/L), which is well above what was found by Ferron et al [ 6 ] (2020) and Naka et al, [ 61 ]. In non-pregnant women residing in the industrial zone of the state of Amazonas [ 61 ], the authors also found a similar average (0.46 μg/L) while the control group presented a value (0.22 μg/L) 2.5 times lower.…”

“…Environmental pollutants such as potentially toxic metals (PTM) have been associated with deleterious effects on human health depending on the magnitude of exposure [ 1 ]. Exposure to a high level of PTM such as lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and the micronutrient manganese (Mn) have been the subject of several investigations in workers from the industrial and mining sector and in populations living in risk zones [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Over time, however, the neurotoxic potential of these metals, even at low exposure levels in children have been reported, [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] and there is a gap of knowledge regarding the toxicity of such contaminants in women [ 2 ].…”

Aprovechamiento De Escorias Metálicas en Ladrillos Cerámicos: Una Revisión

“…Se realizó un estudio para evaluar la exposición de los recolectores con estos metales pesados en Sao Paulo, el tamaño de muestra se calculó en base a resultados de niveles de plomo en el torrente sanguíneo de los individuos expuestos ocupacionalmente en esta metrópoli, obteniendo el 6% de nivel medio de plomo en la sangre, con un 95% de nivel de confianza del tamaño de muestra de 271 individuos, dando a conocer el nivel de intoxicación que conlleva el reciclaje de plomo en esta región (Maleronka et al, 2020).…”

Influência dos metais pesados no acometimento do câncer: Uma revisão da literatura

“…Os metais pesados representam elementos quimicamente reativos os quais podem ocasionar processos de bioacumulação e toxicidade ao organismo, uma vez que este se torna incapaz de eliminar tais substâncias. Salienta-se ainda, que a contaminação por meio destas substâncias age de forma silenciosa provocando efeitos nocivos ao homem, as chamadas neoplasias (Leite et al, 2015;Ferron et al, 2020).…”