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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Bioaccumulate in the soil, selective crops, and other organisms (Blanco et al. 2022).2. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNSA large population of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil is composed of wealthy, predominantly white citizens, with 79.7% of the population having European ancestry (Manta et al. 2013). However, the traditional, local, and indigenous communities, comprising only 9.8% of the population in the region are those most disproportionately affected by heavy-metal contaminants due to their proximity to mining sites (Blanco et al. 2022; Manta et al. 2013). The increased heavy metal concentrations found in the soil, water, and food sources near the mines have raised concerns regarding health issues and food insecurity in the local indigenous populations. Of greatest concern is the ingestion of these contaminants, with a study by Blanco et al. (2022) finding that heavy metals like Cd and Pb are present in concentrations over the recommended amount for consumption in the Baccharis sagittalis plant, a crop which is consumed in teas for medicinal purposes (Blanco et al. 2022). The Baccharis sagittalis plant is abundant in the Santa Caterina mining region and the tea is consumed frequently by the locals. The same study surveyed 195 individuals from 14 local communities (Vila Funil, Rio Carvão, Barreiros, Guaitá, Cidade Alta, Vila Visconde, São Sebastião Alto, Vila São Jorge, Rio Fiorita, Volta Redonda, Campo Morozini, Santa Luzia, Santa Augusta, and São Sebastião) on their consumption of Baccharis sagittalis (Figure 2). The results from the survey showed that 53.8% of the people surveyed consumed Baccharis sagittalis for 1-4 times a week, and that the majority of the population was made up of women over the age of 50 (Blanco et al. 2022). Out of the population that were elderly women, 91.4% had a weekly consumption of Baccharis sagittalis tea (Blanco et al. 2022). The local residents have also stated to have experienced mild physical discomfort like stomach aches and low blood pressure after consuming other species of Baccharis (Blanco et al. 2020).Figure 2. Image of the species Baccharis sagittalis. Photo by Zoya Akulova, 2009, CalPhotos. (https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0109+0911). CC BY-NC 3.0.3. HEAVY METAL POLLUTANTSHeavy metals pollutants are metallic elements that have a relatively high density with an atomic weight exceeding 50 and a specific density greater than 4.5 g/cm³ and are typically toxic or poisonous at low concentrations (Zocche et al. 2010). As these elements are natural components of the Earth’s crust, they cannot be degraded or destroyed, staying in soils for thousands of years (Briffa et al. 2020). This is of additional concern as these toxic elements have the propensity to mobilize and spread via surface and ground waters, bioaccumulating in sediments, selective crops, and other organisms consumed by local and indigenous communities (Blanco et al. 2022).
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