RISK ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIAL AREAS CONTAMINATED BY HEAVY METALS IN THE STATE OF BAHIA: THE CASE OF MINING AND LEAD METALLURGY.
Heavy metals, Lead, Human risk assessment, Environmental risk assessment.
The Pb-Zn mining and Pb metallurgy activities that took place in the interior of Bahia State for more than three decades left soils contaminated with heavy metals that can pose risks to human health and the environment in the region around these former industries. The main objective of this study is to analyze the risk to the environment and human health in industrial areas contaminated by heavy metals in the State of Bahia. Data from three concentration studies were used in this assessment, and a geostatistical analysis identified high levels of potentially toxic elements (i.e., Pb, Cd, and Zn) at these sites, exceeding the regulatory limits for industrial soil, which corroborate the results of the pollution and ecological risk analyses. The results show that the risk of disease from Pb soil contamination is very high for children and moderately high for adults living around the old smelter in Santo Amaro, Bahia. The mining plant produced about 4.5 tons of tailings that were disposed of in a dam. The heavy metal risk analysis of the tailings showed that Pb, Cd and Zn contributed to a high pollution index and Pb and Cd to a potential development of non-carcinogenic diseases. A risk analysis for human health and the environment was also performed around an artisanal ceramic production in the interior of Bahia State. The ecological and health risk indicators showed high values of soil contamination by Pb near the potteries, and the environmental and human health risk in these industrial and artisanal production areas showed that more than 17000 people are exposed to the risk of lead contaminated soil in the state of Bahia.