Scientists linked to the University of São Paulo (USP), Federal University of Espírito Santo (Ufes) and the University of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, identified a possible health risk for children up to six years old who consume bananas grown in soil contaminated by iron mining waste that reached the Doce river estuary, in Linhares (ES), after the collapse of the Fundão dam, in 2015. The results were published at the beginning of October in the scientific journal Environmental Geochemistry and Health and also on the Fapesp website.
The study evaluated bananas, cassava and cocoa pulp produced in areas that have been receiving this material for almost a decade. In the region’s soils, there are high concentrations of metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel and lead, associated with the iron oxides that make up the waste. The main conclusion of the work is that, among all the foods evaluated, only banana presented a significant risk for young children.
Although the so-called Total Risk Indices (IRTs) for most of the foods analyzed were below the risk level (less than 1), indicating that the consumption of foods grown in the Doce River estuary did not pose a significant threat to adults, the result for bananas in children exceeded threshold 1, suggesting potential health impacts. Adults, on the other hand, did not present a significant risk from consuming the region’s fruit.
The main risk factor was the higher concentration of lead present in the fruit, which also had a higher cadmium content than recommended by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization). According to scientists, prolonged exposure to lead, even at low doses, is associated with irreversible damage to neurological development, including reductions in IQ, attention deficits and behavioral disorders.analyzed.
“These elements exist naturally in the environment, we are exposed to them in a lower concentration, but in the case of a disaster like Mariana, when exposure is expected to increase, we need to double our attention”, says Tamires Cherubin, doctor in health sciences and also author of the work.
The results do not characterize a food emergency, but they reinforce the need for continuous monitoring, especially because children are more vulnerable to the neurological effects of lead, exposure is cumulative and can cause impacts even after long periods, and part of the local population still depends on products grown there.
“As the exposure time passes, considering Brazil’s life expectancy of around 75 years, the carcinogenic risk may arise, since there is the possibility of direct and indirect damage to DNA”, says Cherubin.
These mutations have the potential to result in a higher incidence of cancers of different types, such as those affecting the central nervous system, the gastrointestinal tract and the hematological system. “It all depends on the human body’s ability to absorb and metabolize these elements that are available in the environment”, says the researcher.
