Metals in water and fish tissue from Billings Dam: a temporal evaluation

Author(s)

Talita Aparecida de Oliveira

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/BT)
• Defense date: 2012-12-19

Examining board members

Jorge Eduardo de Souza Sarkis; Rubia Kuno; Ivone Mulako Sato

• Advisor: Jorge Eduardo de Souza Sarkis

Abstract

The Billings Dam is the largest reservoir of water that supplies in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Alto Tiete basin, which is located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo in an environmentally protected area. In spite of that, since the beginning of its flooding, several environmental aggressions were observed. Among them the inflow of water from Pinheiros river, used to control floods in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo .The constant input of contaminants in the dam becomes worrisome, considering that, in its surroundings, there are different kinds of settlements, among them families of fishermen, who use these waters without conventional treatments for domestic consumption and artisanal fishing for livelihood. Therefore, this study aimed to carry out a temporal evaluation of metal levels present in dam\'s water and fish tissue, correlating these values with the water input flow of Pinheiros River and pluviometric index in the region. During a period of one year, circa of 800 individuals among the main consumed fish species in the region Geophagus brasiliensis (acará), Hoplias malabaricus (traíra), Tilapia rendalli (tilápia) e Astyanax ssp (lambari), from seven fishing places were collected and analysed. It was also collected water from thirteen places chosen by local fishermen. Considering each fish specimen analyzed, the levels of metals are in the same order of magnitude regardless of the region of capture. The levels of Cr in circa of 62% of acarás, 98% of lambaris, 67% of traíras and 100% of tilapia do not meet the limit stipulated by ANVISA. Cu and Hg, in all samples meet the limits set by national legislation. The Pinheiros river water clearly affects the quality of dam\'s water. The most contaminated regions were: Pedreira, Margem do Bororé, Alvarenga, Barragem Taquacetuba, Casa Caída and Ilha do Biguá. It was observed that 100% of samples do not meet the limits established for water quality by CONAMA for Cu, Mn and Ni, 50% do not meet the limit for Cd and 20% for Zn . In general, we can observe the entry of to the waters of Pinheiros River during operation of the flotation system and even during the flood control changes the whole natural scheme of the dam, although the dam still manages to absorb the contamination that is received. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/04953-4 - Metals in tissue of fish from the Billings: a temporal evaluation
• Grantee: Talita Aparecida de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master