Abstract

Heavy metals are natural and essential elements of the environment and living beings, produced from natural (e.g. volcanic activity and cosmic ray-induced spallation) and anthropogenic processes (e.g. industrial and fossil fuel combustion). High-concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides are also originated from anthropogenic activities in urban and industrial areas. In this preliminary study, we analyzed the levels of heavy metals and Polonium-210 (210Po) in lung tissues in autopsies from residents of the city of Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. In order to identify the link among sources of the heavy metals in lungs, factor analysis was performed. Of the first four factors, which explain 66% of the total variability, three were associated with vehicular sources. The fitting of a regression model with 210Po as the response variable and with the four factors as explanatory variables, controlling for age, sex and tobacco, showed a significant association between the concentration of polonium and the first factor that is generated by catalysts and brakes (coefficient = 0.90, standard error = 0.33, p = 0.016). Our findings suggest an association between traffic-related trace metals and 210Po in lung autopsies.

Details

Title
Accumulation of trace element content in the lungs of Sao Paulo city residents and its correlation to lifetime exposure to air pollution
Author
dos Santos, Nathália Villa 1 ; Vieira, Carolina Leticia Zilli 2 ; Saldiva, Paulo Hilario Nascimento 3 ; De André, Carmen Diva Saldiva 4 ; Mazzilli, Barbara Paci 5 ; de Fátima Andrade, Maria 6 ; Saueia, Catia Heloisa 5 ; Saiki, Mitiko 5 ; Veras, Mariana Matera 3 ; Koutrakis, Petros 2 

 University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Laboratory of Environmental and Experimental Pathology LIM05, Department of Pathology, São Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.11899.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0722); University of São Paulo, Brazil, Department of Environmental Health School of Public Health, São Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.11899.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0722) 
 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
 University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Laboratory of Environmental and Experimental Pathology LIM05, Department of Pathology, São Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.11899.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0722) 
 University of Sao Paulo, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.11899.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0722) 
 Nuclear and Energy Research Institute, IPEN-CNEN, São Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.466806.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2104 465X) 
 University of São Paulo, Atmospheric Sciences Department, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, São Paulo, Brazil (GRID:grid.11899.38) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0722) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2682581282
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.