Invisible contaminants and food security in former coal mining areas of Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mining activities have environmental impacts due to sediment movement and contamination of areas and may also pose risks to people's food security. In Brazil, the majority of coal mining activities are in the south, in the Santa Catarina carboniferous region. In this region, previously mined areas contaminated with heavy metals frequently occur nearby inhabited zones. Mining is part of the daily lives of local communities, and its environmental impacts are visible in the landscape; however, plants with medicinal and food use from these areas can be still consumed. Heavy metals are contaminants that do not have odor, color, or taste, and are therefore difficult to detect. We aimed to verify whether people use plants from contaminated mine areas, and understand which facto

SUBMITTER: Blanco GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7427890 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature