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Blood markers among residents from a coal mining area

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Abstract

Coal extraction and processing generate environmental contamination, which has several negative impacts on human health. Hematological and biochemical parameters are effective biomarkers of the exposure of a population to air pollutants. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate hematological and biochemical parameters in adult residents in a coal mining region in the largest national reserve in Brazil, as well as to investigate their relations with air quality. The study included three cities in the south of Brazil, which are located near an important power plant and coal mine. The air quality was analyzed by PM10, NOx, and SO2 at five air quality monitoring stations, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics were evaluated with a questionnaire, and biochemical parameters were assessed in blood samples. The mean PM10 in the study area was 19.18 μg/m3. The air quality varied among the five monitoring stations, and the Candiota station exceeded the reference limit by 63.3%. In general, participants had lived more than 10 years in the municipality and had hepatic and renal parameters within the reference values. A higher prevalence of alterations was found in hematological parameters (43.1%) and liver function (30%). Among the three cities, the population of Pedras Altas seems to have a greater impairment of the blood parameters evaluated. The only parameter that was correlated with PM10 was the hematocrit level (r = 0.33; P < 0.001).

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the CAPES for providing doctoral scholarships (Marina dos Santos and Caroline Lopes Feijo Fernandes).

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was financially supported by Companhia de Geração Térmica de Energia Elétrica. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ensaios Farmacológicos e Toxicológicos - LEFT, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – FURG, Av. Itália, km 8, Campus Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Ana Paula Bigliardi, Caroline Lopes Feijo Fernandes, Edlaine Acosta Pinto, Marina dos Santos, Edariane Menestrino Garcia, Paulo Roberto Martins Baisch, Maria Cristina Flores Soares, Ana Luíza Muccillo-Baisch & Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior

  2. Programa de Pós Graduação em Ciências da Saúde. – Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – FURG, Rua Visconde de Paranaguá 102 Centro, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-900, Brazil

    Ana Paula Bigliardi, Caroline Lopes Feijo Fernandes, Marina dos Santos, Ana Luíza Muccillo-Baisch & Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior

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  1. Ana Paula Bigliardi
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  2. Caroline Lopes Feijo Fernandes
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  6. Paulo Roberto Martins Baisch
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Correspondence to Flavio Manoel Rodrigues da Silva Júnior.

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The study respected the ethical principles of Resolution 466/12 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health and was approved by the Research Ethics Committee in the Health Area of the Federal University of Rio Grande (CEPAS/FURG), reference number 036/2013.

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Bigliardi, A.P., Fernandes, C.L.F., Pinto, E.A. et al. Blood markers among residents from a coal mining area. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 1409–1416 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10400-3

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