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.

A Nanotecnologia permitiu a inserção no mercado consumidor de produtos com a presença de nanomateriais (NM) engenheirados. Entretanto, ainda existem lacunas de conhecimento sobre os impactos negativos para a saúde e para o ambiente, principalmente em longo prazo, causados pela produção, utilização e eliminação dos NM engenheirados. Além de vários elementos potencialmente perigosos que podem ser encontrados nos Resíduos de Equipamentos Elétricos e Eletrônicos (REEE), alguns NM engenheirados também podem estar na composição de diversos eletroeletrônicos. No Brasil não existe qualquer fonte de informação que indique a presença de NM na composição de produtos de consumo, incluindo os equipamentos eletroeletrônicos, que no final de suas vidas úteis se tornarão REEE, sendo a reciclagem (ainda em baixo percentual e por vezes realizada informalmente) ou a disposição no solo, em muitos casos em locais inadequados, suas principais formas de destinação. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar um levantamento bibliográfico e a consulta em três bancos de dados internacionais na busca de informações sobre a presença de NM engenheirados em produtos eletroeletrônicos. Nos bancos de dados foi indicado que a nano-prata é o NM mais utilizado, além de nanotubos de carbono, grafeno, dióxido de titânio e silício. Entretanto, de uma forma geral, foram observadas lacunas de dados, escassez de estudos e de divulgação de informações sobre a presença de NM engenheirados nos equipamentos eletroeletrônicos e nos REEE, indicando a necessidade da inserção desta questão no gerenciamento adequado dos REEE, a fim de prevenir os possíveis impactos destes novos materiais na saúde humana e no ambiente.