[Solid urban waste: socio-environmental impacts and prospects for sustainable management with social inclusion]

Isolation and sequencing of Orthoflavivirus ilheusense from mosquitoes collected in the Brazilian cerrado, West-Central region, Brazil

The Orthoflavivirus ilheusense (ILHV) is an arbovirus that was first isolated in Brazil in 1944 during an epidemiologic investigation of yellow fever. Is a member of the Flaviviridae family and it belongs to the antigenic complex of the Ntaya virus group. Psorophora ferox is the primary vector of ILHV and this study presents the isolation and phylogenetic analysis of ILHV in a pool of Ps. ferox collected in the state of Goiás in 2021. Viral isolation tests were performed on Vero cells and C6/36 clones. The indirect immunofluorescence test (IFI) was used to confirm the positivity of the sample. The positive sample underwent RT-qPCR, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis. This is the first report of ILHV circulation in this municipality and presented close relationship between this isolate and another ILHV isolate collected in the city of Belém (PA).

Biotechnological potential of microorganisms from landfill leachate: isolation, antibiotic resistance and leachate discoloration

Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) can be considered a risk to human health representing a great environmental problem in several countries. MSW landfills are a significant source of toxic elements in the environment. Microorganisms able to thriving in leachate wastewater may exhibit metabolic machinery to synthesize a wide range of enzymes able to degrade and/or discolor toxic compounds from leachate. The use of non-pathogenic microbial cells for human health, recovered from leachate for biotechnological application, can be considered a promising approach in bioremediation processes of toxic compounds found in these environments. The present work aimed to the isolation, antibiotic resistance evaluation and leachate discoloration by microorganisms isolated from landfill leachate of Foz do Iguaçu. Forty bacteria and fifteen filamentous fungi were isolated. From these, six bacterial showed resistance at least one tested antibiotic, while six fungal isolates showed resistance to the antimycotic nystatin. CCMIBA_4L (unidentified bacteria) and Paecilomyces sp. CCMIBA_5N, were able to discolor 19.15% and 25.26% of the leachate, respectively. The results of the present work encourage future studies to characterize the enzymes involved in the discoloration and degradation of the leachate. The findings demonstrated the potential for the use of microorganisms from landfill leachate as bioremediation tools.

Saúde ambiental: a profissão de catador de materiais recicláveis com abordagem do estudo teórico crítico

Resumo Sabendo que a Epistemologia é o estudo da ciência com implicações sobre as teorias do conhecimento, este artigo não pretende entrar em seu mérito puramente conceitual, mas conjeturar e apresentar os caminhos da ciência, a partir de uma abordagem crítica em torno da Saúde Ambiental, com suas repercussões na profissão de catador. Na tentativa de transcrever os caminhos da ciência com relação ao tema proposto, este estudo tem como objetivo relacionar a problemática dos resíduos sólidos urbanos com a profissão de catador de materiais recicláveis, focando na saúde ambiental e no uso da abordagem do estudo teórico crítico através de uma revisão da literatura. Entende-se que é necessário questionar os caminhos que levam a profissão de catador de materiais recicláveis a não ser protagonista das possíveis soluções do acúmulo dos resíduos sólidos urbanos, proporcionando o enfrentamento das questões econômicas, políticas e tecnológicas pouco eficazes.

Environmental and Energetic Evaluation of Refuse-Derived Fuel Gasification for Electricity Generation

In this work, an energetic and environmental evaluation of the electricity generation process through refuse-derived fuel (RDF) gasification coupled to a gas microturbine (GM) was performed. Two scenarios are considered with different gasification agents in RDF gasification modeling: air and air enriched with oxygen. A thermodynamic chemical equilibrium approach was used to analyze the gasification parameters. The results of RDF gasification indicate a maximum value of syngas low heating value (LHV) equal to 8.0 MJ/Nm3, obtained for an equivalence ratio of 0.3. The use of these syngas in the gas microturbine produces 79.6 kW of electrical power. For the environmental evaluation of gasification and electricity generation systems, the Life Cycle Assessment methodology was employed. The calculated environmental impacts indicate that the emission of contaminants from fossil fuel combustion (in the stage of transport by heavy load vehicles) and that the electricity consumption for equipment operation (in the stage of municipal solid waste pretreatment) contributes to environmental pollution. On the other hand, electricity generation through GM presented lower environmental impact for all analyzed categories, suggesting that the electricity generation from gas obtained from gasification could be a viable option for thermochemical conversion of RDF and its subsequent energetic use.

Sanitation, Arboviruses, and Environmental Determinants of Disease: impacts on urban health

What are the repercussions of poorly planned urbanization for population health? Understanding urban health, the risks posed by cities, health repercussions, and urban social relations helps urban planners to decide where to target prevention interventions. We conducted a qualitative descriptive analytical study based on a document analysis and bibliographical review to explore the relationship between urbanization and urban health, focusing on diseases transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Our findings show that environmental degradation and inadequate infrastructure pose a serious risk to human health, insofar as the disposal of waste in dumps and landfills can cause exposure to hazardous chemicals. In addition, inadequate urban infrastructure and sanitation is conducive to the transmission of water-borne diseases and the reproduction of vectors of other diseases such as Aedes aegypti, responsible for the transmission of arboviruses (dengue, chikungunya, and Zika). Research on environmental and urban health therefore provides an important foundation for improving the quality of life of people living in cities and developing measures designed to prevent diseases related to unplanned urbanization.

Public Policy for Solid Waste and the Organization of Waste Pickers: Potentials and Limitations to Promote Social Inclusion in Brazil

The management model for the National Solid Waste Policy to develop sustainable actions, proposes the social inclusion of recyclable waste pickers in the waste management system. Compliance with the law, the form of participation of the waste pickers, and incentive mechanisms are configured as a relationship open to analysis. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the potentials and limitations of a recycling cooperative, in terms of social technologies and inclusion, to encourage local development. The qualitative approach was aided by structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. The resulting evidence suggests that the organization of a cooperative, enabled access to information on the legislation of the National Solid Waste Policy. It showed the need to strengthen relationships with education institutions and public authorities. Despite the low levels of education of the members of the cooperative, projects and knowledge could be developed to aid social technologies. No technological innovations were observed, nor the production of alternative artifacts for recyclable materials. This weakens the cooperative in terms of articulation among peers, most notably the integration of the Catamare cooperative in the network of Cataparaná, to support the sale of material produced for industry. It may be concluded that joining the cooperative improved the social, economic, and political conditions of the members, but there were also structural limits to the recycling production chain that were not considered in the National Solid Waste Policy; and to a certain extent this weakens the development of sustainable actions. Furthermore, the organization of the cooperative hindered the development of social technologies and the social inclusion of the waste pickers.

Contributions of national health conferences to the definition of public environmental and health information policy

The relationship between health and the environment has been the object of increased interest from researchers in recent decades with information being the phenomenon that makes it possible to construct a tessitura between the 2 areas. The goal of this article is to examine how the recommendations of the National Health Conferences treat the issue of the environment and information and how they link these two areas with health. The present study is a documentary investigation of a qualitative nature. The documents that comprise the research's corpus are the official reports of the Conferences, from the 1st (1943) to the 14th (2011). The results show that environmental issues have always been present, especially since the 8th Conference in 1986, after which there is an increasing amplification of discussions about the theme. The themes of "health" and "the environment" discussed in the 12th and 13th Conferences demonstrate clear progress toward defining their relationship with quality of life. "Health Information" is referenced as fundamental in almost all the Conferences, achieving the status of priority axis in the 11th Conference. The inclusion of several propositions presented and discussed in the Conferences seems to influence the establishment of public policies in the areas of the environment and information.

[Assessment of impacts of combined treatment of solid urban waste landfill leachate and sewage on aquatic biota]

The impact on tilapia fish of combined treatment of landfill leachate and domestic sewage was monitored in a waste treatment plant that operated on a pilot scale using the activated sludge process. Biomarkers of sub-lethal toxicity were used to indicate the possibility of damage to organisms due to interaction with pollutants. The concentration of metallothioneins did not indicate the increased presence of metals in fish exposed than in control groups. Acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity was inhibited in only one of the exposed groups, indicating the possible presence of organophosphate and/or carbamate pesticides in treated effluent. The PAHs used as biomarkers (naphthalene, pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene and 1-hydroxypyrene) indicated that exposed fish had a greater absorption of PAHs than control groups of fish, indicating the likely presence of these compounds in at least one of the combined treatment effluents. The frequencies of micronuclei and other erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities also indicate greater genotoxic damage in cells of organisms exposed than in control groups. The use of biomarkers proved to be important to permit an evaluation of sub-lethal damage present in organisms exposed to the pollution source studied.

Conhecimento, prática e percepção sobre o gerenciamento de resíduos de serviços de saúde em estabelecimentos médicos veterinários de Salvador, Bahia

Objetivou-se avaliar os estabelecimentos veterinários e prestadores de serviços clínicos da cidade de Salvador - Bahia, quanto ao cumprimento da legislação referente ao gerenciamento de resíduos de serviços de saúde por meio da análise da prática, do conhecimento, e da percepção dos responsáveis técnicos sobre o tema. Entre setembro de 2010 e março de 2011, 36 clínicas e consultórios veterinários foram visitados e seus respectivos responsáveis técnicos entrevistados sobre o conhecimento, a prática e a percepção sobre o tema. Desses, 30,6% conheciam a legislação vigente, 2,8% implantaram o plano de gerenciamento de resíduos de serviços de saúde, 19,4% tinham contrato com empresa de coleta especial e 88,9% atribuíam riscos aos resíduos de serviços de saúde, além de outros aspectos que foram investigados. Os resultados mostraram que embora os responsáveis técnicos desconhecessem a resolução da Agencia Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, eles tinham consciência dos riscos associados às práticas inadequadas de gerenciamento dos resíduos de serviços de saúde. O estudo revelou a necessidade de se perceber e corrigir as lacunas na formação profissional; na percepção dos riscos representados pelos resíduos de serviços de saúde; no diálogo entre as instituições e o profissional e na formulação de critérios que adéquem a legislação pertinente às características e à escala da geração de resíduos de serviços de saúde nos estabelecimentos médicos veterinários.