This study focused on verifying whether the emission of air pollutants in São Paulo increases the costs and number of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in Brazil. Data on pollutant emissions, hospitalizations, and hospital costs were collected from 2008 to 2017 and correlated with air quality standards. The results showed that the concentration of particulate matter increased each year during the study period and was highly correlated with hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases. Ozone (O₃) was within the quality standard throughout the study period but registered an increase in the mean and a positive correlation with hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases. The carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels were within the quality standards throughout the study period with a decrease in the last years studied, but showed a positive correlation with hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases. The pollutant emissions and hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases had an inverse relationship with the monthly rainfall curve for São Paulo, which indicates that rainfall tended to reduce pollutant emissions and consequently hospitalizations due to inhalation of these pollutants. Because costs are directly associated with hospitalizations, both increased during the study period—302,000 hospitalizations at an average cost of 368 USD resulted in a total cost of 111 million USD. To reduce these costs, Brazil should implement stricter policies to improve the air quality of its major cities and develop a viable alternative to diesel vehicles.

Renewable energies are cleaner forms of energy, and their use, has intensified in recent decades. Thus, this work presents a proposal for reducing the emissions, fuel cost, and respiratory disease hospitalizations using environmental cost accounting principles to produce biodiesel production from waste frying oil. In our methodology, we conducted surveys, and collected waste cooking oil samples from local households and restaurants in São Paulo city, Brazil. Then, we produced biodiesel using these samples. Data on air pollutants were collected and correlated with the number of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases and their costs. Our results indicate that 330,000 respiratory disease hospitalizations were recorded in São Paulo city between 2009 and 2018, and the total cost for the Brazilian government reached US $117 million. Improving the city air quality by switching from fossil fuels to biodiesel could reduce the annual number of hospitalizations to 9880 and cost US $3.518 million, because the amount of pollutants emitted from burning fossil fuels was positively correlated with the number of respiratory disease hospitalizations and their costs. Moreover, the emission rates of particulate matter with particles less than 10 and 2.5 µm in diameter exceeded the World Health Organization limits throughout the study period. Using the survey data, we estimated that the average monthly quantity of waste cooking oil was 9794.6 m³, which could generate 9191.2 m³ of biodiesel and produce 239,713 t CO₂ of carbon credits. Environmental cost accounting revealed that it would be possible to achieve an annual profit of approximately US $300 million from the sale of excess biodiesel, carbon credits, and glycerine, and fuel acquisition savings which could improve the image of São Paulo city and quality of life of its residents. Thus, we present this as a way to reduce cost and hospitalizations, and increase the number of available hospital beds for other diseases, such as COVID-19.

This paper presents a case study conducted at a food supply centre in a shopping centre in São Paulo city, Brazil. A waste digester was developed based on specifications provided by GE for the generator, and the cost of electricity production from food waste generated in the region was subsequently assessed. Results show that 1,368,750 m³ biogas was produced for the year, which provided a reduction of 14% of electricity consumption and is equivalent to USD 854 thousand per year. The amount of carbon credits is equivalent to 10,775 metric tons of CO₂ and 51,840 tons of organic waste humus per year. The energy produced by biogas from food waste had a unit cost of 0.10 USD/kWh. At the end of the project, a profit of USD 3.087 million was achieved, which is equivalent to an ROI of 433%. There is a reduction in energy costs by USD 854 thousand per year and a payback of 1.01 years. These indicate that biogas production from food waste is economically viable.

Some classes of drugs represent greater criticality as environmental contamination; antibiotics in general represent the most potent contaminants and cause greater damage to the environment. The purpose of this work is to quantify the percentage of soil contamination by Azithromycin in presentations of 500 mg, through the application of Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transform. It was verified that the drug exerts significant impacts to the environment, even in the characteristic of micropollutant, and that its extraction when performed with Pure Acetonitrile allows its residues in soil samples to be satisfactorily quantified.

This work shows a proposal for reducing emissions, fuel costs, and respiratory disease hospitalizations using environmental cost accounting principles for the production of biodiesel production from waste frying oil (WFO). PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and O₃ data from 2017 to 2022 were collected and correlated with the number of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases and their costs. WFO samples were collected locally from households and restaurants in the greater ABC region, Brazil, and biodiesel was produced using the samples. The results showed that throughout the studied period, one or more of the polluting gases showed a strong correlation with hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases, corroborating what has already been verified by other studies carried out by the WHO. WFO biodiesel was within the standard limits, and the total annual production was estimated to be 30,435 m³; moreover, the associated annual carbon credits would equal 67 tCO₂, as well as a decrease of 30% in total pollutant emissions. Environmental cost accounting revealed that the annual number of respiratory disease hospitalizations could decrease by 3093 and the associated healthcare cost would decrease by USD 838 thousand per year; moreover, the sale of biodiesel and byproducts can generate an annual profit of USD 19 million. The biodiesel plant project had an NPV of USD 172.5 million, a payback of 1 month, and a return on investment of more than 170 times the initial financing. In addition, the reputation and the quality of life of the greater ABC region’s residents could improve.