Spatial-temporal variability of metal pollution across an industrial district, evidencing the environmental inequality in Sao Paulo

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Locosselli, Giuliano Maselli ; Lopes Moreira, Tiana Carla ; Chacon-Madriz, Katherine ; Zezzi Arruda, Marco Aurelio ; de Camargo, Evelyn Pereira ; Kamigauti, Leonardo Yoshiaki ; Ferreira da Trindade, Ricardo Ivan ; Andrade, Maria de Fatima ; Saldiva de Andre, Carmen Diva ; de Andre, Paulo Afonso ; Singer, Julio M. ; Saiki, Mitiko ; Zaccarelli-Marino, Maria Angela ; Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo Hilario ; Buckeridge, Marcos Silveira

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Environmental Pollution; v. 263, p. 8-pg., 2020-08-01.

Abstract

Although air pollution decreased in some cities that shifted from an industrial to a service-based economy, and vehicular emission regulation became more restrictive, it is still a major risk factor for mortality worldwide. In central Sao Paulo, Brazil, air quality monitoring stations and tree-ring analyses revealed a decreasing trend in the concentrations of particulate matter and metals. Such trends, however, may not be observed in industrial districts located in the urban periphery, where the usual mobile sources may be combined with local stationary sources. To evaluate environmental pollution in an industrial district in southeastern Sao Paulo, we assessed its spatial variability, by measuring magnetic properties and concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, S, Sr, Zn in the bark of 62 trees, and its temporal trends, by measuring Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn in tree rings of three trees. Source apportionment analysis based on tree barks revealed two clusters with high concentrations of metals, one related to vehicular and industrial emissions (Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, Zn) in the east side of the industrial cluster, and the other related to soil resuspension (Cu, Zn, Mn) in its west side. These patterns are also supported by the magnetic properties of bark associated with iron oxides and titanium-iron alloy concentrations. Dendrochemical analyses revealed that only the concentrations of Pb consistently decreased over the last four decades. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, V, and Zn did not significantly decrease over time, in contrast with their negative trends previously reported in central Sao Paulo. This combined biomonitoring approach revealed spatial clusters of metal concentration in the vicinity of this industrial cluster and showed that the local population has not benefited from the decreasing polluting metal concentrations in the last decades. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/21728-2 - The use of modern autopsy techniques to investigate human diseases (MODAU)
• Grantee: Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/25511-3 - Climate and pollution reconstruction based on urban tree-rings growth records
• Grantee: Giuliano Maselli Locosselli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 17/10544-9 - Dendrochronology of Cedrela fissilis from an urban park in São Paulo
• Grantee: Evelyn Pereira de Camargo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation