Toxicity assessment of pollutants present in the Doce River after the collapse of the Fundão tailings dam (MG) through different biomarkers in fish

• Grant number: 16/15229-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2018
• End date: January 27, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Denis Moledo de Souza Abessa
• Grantee: Flávia Yoshie Yamamoto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/14688-8 - Metabolomics as a powerful approach to elucidate mechanisms of action of environmental chemicals from Doce River in brazilian fish embryos, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

During several decades the mining activities in Brasil, particularly in the Iron Quadrangle region, are responsible to cause environmental impact due to the generation of mining tailing which are destinated to the water bodies. After the environmental disaster of the collapse of Fundão tailings dam (MG), millions of liters of mining tailing were mobilized to the Doce River Basin, leading to a great socioeconomic and environmental prejudice. Chemical analysis in the water already detected along the Doce River course, high concentrations of metals, as Fe, Al, Mn, and hazard metals, as As, Cd and Pb after the accident. However, the presence and distribution of these pollutants remain to be determined, together with other organic contaminants, in different environmental compartments, such as the sediment and the exposed organisms. Additionally, other analysis considering the toxicological effects in the exposed organisms in short, medium and long term are necessary. Therefore, the real socioenvironmental damages should be appropriately evaluated though different approaches that include both abiotic and biotic aspects in this ecosystem. The aim of this project is to evaluate the environmental quality after the disaster, by means of the detection and quantification of pollutants (metals and organic compounds) in the abiotic (water and sediment) and biotic (fish tissue) compartments, associated to different biological responses in native fish from Doce River, adequate model animals to this study, in adult phase: i) evaluate the general health of the fish in different sites and period of sampling; ii) verify the main activated mechanisms of defense and adptation in fish, after acute exposure to the toxic compounds; iii) Evaluate possible alterations in reproductive aspects in adult fish; and in initial phases of development; iv) verify the embryotoxicity; and v) develop a math model which allows to predict the effects at population levels in long term. These results will help to evaluate appropriately the adverse effects caused both in the ichthyofauna exposed to this impacted environment and to assist public authorities decision-making. (AU)

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE PAULA, VINICIUS DE C. S.; GOMES, MONIKE F.; MARTINS, LUCIA REGINA R.; YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA Y.; DE FREITAS, ADRIANE MARTINS. Acute toxicity characterization of organic UV-filters and chronic exposure revealing multigenerational effects in DAPHNIA MAGNA. ECOTOXICOLOGY, v. 31, n. 9, p. 13-pg., 2022-10-20. (16/15229-1)

GOMES, MONIKE FELIPE; SOARES DE PAULA, VINICIUS DE CARVALHO; ROCHA MARTINS, LUCIA REGINA; ESQUIVEL GARCIA, JUAN RAMON; YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA YOSHIE; DE FREITAS, ADRIANE MARTINS. Sublethal effects of triclosan and triclocarban at environmental concentrations in silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) embryos. Chemosphere, v. 263, JAN 2021. (16/15229-1)

FERNANDES, GABRIELLE M.; MARTINS, DAVI A.; DOS SANTOS, RAFAEL P.; DE SANTIAGO, ITHALA S.; NASCIMENTO, LORENA S.; OLIVEIRA, ANDRE H. B.; YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA Y.; CAVALCANTE, RIVELINO M.. Levels, source appointment, and ecological risk of petroleum hydrocarbons in tropical coastal ecosystems (northeast Brazil): Baseline for future monitoring programmes of an oil spill area. Environmental Pollution, v. 296, p. 27-pg., 2022-03-01. (16/15229-1)

DE FIGUEIREDO EUFRASIO PAULY, GUACIRA; CRUZ, ANA C. F.; TREVIZANI, TAILISI H.; MI KIM, BIANCA S.; PERINA, FERNANDO C.; YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA Y.; FIGUEIRA, RUBENS C. L.; DE SOUZA ABESSA, DENIS M.. Spatial-temporal variations of metals and arsenic in sediments from the Doce River after the Fundao dam rupture and their bioaccumulation in Corbicula fluminea. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, v. N/A, p. 12-pg., 2023-05-05. (18/23279-4, 16/15229-1)

REQUE, REGIANE; CARNEIRO, RHAISSA DAYANE; YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA YOSHIE; RAMSDORF, WANESSA ALGARTE; MARTINS, LUCIA REGINA; GUILOSKI, IZONETE CRISTINA; DE FREITAS, ADRIANE MARTINS. Ecotoxicity of losartan potassium in aquatic organisms of different trophic levels. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY, v. 87, OCT 2021. (16/15229-1)

YAMAMOTO, FLAVIA YOSHIE; SOUZA, ANGIE THAISA COSTA; DE PAULA, VINICIUS DE CARVALHO SOARES; BEVERARI, ISABELLA; GARCIA, JUAN RAMON ESQUIVEL; PADIAL, ANDRE ANDIAN; ABESSA, DENIS MOLEDO DE SOUZA. From molecular endpoints to modeling longer-term effects in fish embryos exposed to the elutriate from Doce River. Science of The Total Environment, v. 846, p. 14-pg., 2022-07-27. (16/15229-1)

YAMAMOTO, F. Y.; PAULY, G. E.; NASCIMENTO, L. S.; FERNANDES, G. M.; SANTOS, M. P.; KIM, B. S. M.; CARVALHO, M. U.; FIGUEIRA, R. C. L.; CAVALCANTE, R. M.; GRASSI, M. T.; et al. Chemical data of contaminants in water and sediments from the Doce River four years after the mining dam collapse disaster. DATA IN BRIEF, v. 45, p. 13-pg., 2022-11-11. (16/15229-1, 18/23279-4)

YAMAMOTO, F. Y.; ONISHI, K.; RALHA, T. R.; SILVA, L. F. O.; DEDA, B.; PESSALI, T. Y. C.; SOUZA, C.; RIBEIRO, C. A. OLIVEIRA; ABESSA, D. M. S.. Earlier biomarkers in fish evidencing stress responses to metal and organic pollution along the Doce River Basin*. Environmental Pollution, v. 329, p. 10-pg., 2023-04-27. (16/15229-1)

YAMAMOTOA, F. Y.; PAULYA, G. F. E.; NASCIMENTOB, L. S.; FERNANDESB, G. M.; SANTOS, M. P.; FIGUEIRAD, R. C. L.; CAVALCANTEB, R. M.; GRASSI, M. T.; ABESSAA, D. M. S.. Explaining the persistence of hazardous chemicals in the Doce River (Brazil) by multiple sources of contamination and a major environmental disaster. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ADVANCES, v. 9, p. 15-pg., 2023-02-01. (18/23279-4, 16/15229-1)