Levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticides (OCP) were evaluated in the breast milk and maternal and umbilical cord blood of pregnant women and their newborns in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The concentration of 11 PCB and 17 OCP were measured in 135 samples of maternal, and 116 samples of cord blood plasma, as well as 40, 47, and 45 samples of breast milk at 1st, 3rd, and 6th months after birth, respectively, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS). Women were asked to answer an enrollment questionnaire with reproductive, lifestyle, residential and sociodemographic questions. The most commonly detected OCPs and PCBs in the maternal and cord blood were 4,4′-DDE; β-HCH; ɣ-HCH; and PCB 28. 4,4′-DDE was also the most commonly detected OCP in breast milk samples. Although not statistically significant, ∑DDT levels were higher among women with pregestational BMI ≥ 30, and who were non-white and older (age > 40). Newborns with an Apgar score ≤ 8 at minute 5 of life showed significantly higher levels of ∑DDT in the cord blood. Persistent OCPs and PCBs were still detected in maternal and umbilical cord blood and breast milk, even after decades of their banishment in Brazil. They may pose a risk to maternal, fetal and children’s health.

As a developing country, Brazil presents a wide range of environmental risks that can constitute hazards to child health. The country also presents different socio-economic-cultural conditions that could be responsible for determining different vulnerability and susceptibility levels for the population, which can potentiate the effects of the environmental pollutants. The Rio Birth Cohort Study (PIPA project) is a prospective maternal-infant health study, hosted in the city of Rio de Janeiro (Southeastern Brazil), designed to investigate separate and combined effects of environmental chemical pollutants, as well as the interactions between these exposures and sociocultural environment and epigenetic patterns. This paper presents the learned lessons and strategies to address the shortcomings detected from this pilot study. The study population will be all children born at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Maternity Hospital from July 1st, 2020 to June 30th, 2021. The estimated population is of 2,500 children. The study will collect social, demographic, and health information from pregnant women and their children up to four years of age. Biological samples from both mothers and newborns will be collected to assess metal, pesticide and plasticizer exposure. All newborns will have their landmarks of physical, neurological, psychological, and cognitive development recorded at specific ages. A pilot study was carried out between September 2017 and August 2018, totaling 142 enrolled pregnant women, leading to 135 (95%) births and the collection of umbilical cord (126-93%,) and mother (139-98%) blood samples, as well as both mother (142-100%) and newborn (54-40%) urine samples and newborn meconium samples (117-86.7%). The study proposes a comprehensive assessment of pre- and postnatal exposure to environmental chemicals at multiple time points in a population living in a highly urbanized developing country. As far as we know, this is the only birth cohort in Brazil specifically designed for this purpose.

This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of the green tobacco sickness (GTS) and its associated factors in tobacco familiar farmers residing in Dom Feliciano, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted evaluating the sickness in 354 small tobacco farmers, between October 2011 and March 2012. The urinary concentration of cotinine, a biomarker of exposure to nicotine, was determined during the tobacco harvest period. Subjects presenting cotinine urinary levels ≥ 50ng/mL, that had contact with tobacco leaves up to 48 hours before the sample collection and reported at least one disease symptom were deemed as cases. A non-conditional logistic analysis was performed to evaluate the association between GTS and the population characteristics. A total of 122 (34.5%) cases were identified, with 39% of them being smokers and 61% being males. The median cotinine urinary concentrations were 75.6ng/mL (74.1ng/mg of creatinine) for non-cases and 755.8ng/mL (632.1ng/mg of creatinine) for the cases (p-value ≤ 0.01). The multivariate analysis showed a positive association between GTS and sunlight exposure time, exposure to pesticides, worse health status, and inverse association with wood cultivation. This study presented a high GTS prevalence and suggest that the use of urinary cotinine is a significant biomarker to determine GTS cases, influencing in the distribution by sex. Once the tobacco production involves health hazards, is important to implement measures to prevent the harm caused to tobacco farmers, as set in articles 17 and 18 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

A gasolina é uma mistura complexa de substâncias, dentre elas estão hidrocarbonetos como o benzeno, tolueno, etilbenzeno e xilenos (BTEX), sendo esses compostos emitidos para a atmosfera, com destaque ao benzeno, por ser comprovadamente carcinogênico. Objetivamos avaliar as concentrações de BTEX no ar de postos de revenda de combustíveis no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, e calcular o risco de câncer associado a estas exposições. Foram realizados dois tipos de amostragem (fixa e móvel) adaptadas da metodologia nº 1.501 do Instituto Nacional de Segurança e Saúde Ocupacional (Estados Unidos), em seis postos de revenda de combustíveis na Zona Oeste da cidade. A amostragem fixa foi feita próxima às bombas de combustível, enquanto a móvel foi realizada através da coleta do ar na zona respiratória dos trabalhadores (frentistas), conforme estes se deslocavam pelo posto. As amostras foram analisadas por cromatografia gasosa com detecção por ionização em chama. Com os resultados das amostragens foram feitos os cálculos de risco à saúde, usando os indicadores Quociente de perigo (HQ) e Risco de câncer (CR), para avaliar os possíveis efeitos não-carcinogênicos e carcinogênicos, respectivamente, nos trabalhadores dos postos de revenda de combustíveis. As concentrações ambientais para a maioria dos compostos BTEX foram abaixo dos limites preconizados, menos para o benzeno, um composto carcinogênico, que apresentou concentrações muito acima dos limites, levando a altos valores de risco de câncer. Os resultados demonstraram que há riscos à saúde dos trabalhadores de postos de revenda de combustíveis, principalmente o risco de desenvolver câncer, devido à exposição excessiva ao benzeno.