How does risk assessment assist in population health management?

To assess the impacts and consequences of the disaster of the breach of dam B1 of the Córrego do Feijão Mine in Brumadinho on the natural environment and the biotic environment, each subproject of the Brumadinho Project UFMG has its particularity in order to understand all the areas involved.

The main purpose of subproject 26 is to determine the presence and concentration of metals and metalloids that may be in the viscera and musculature of fish - these elements being collected in the Paraopeba River basin.  

De acordo com Flávia Beatriz Custódio, coordenadora do subprojeto 26 e especialista na análise de risco em alimentos, ``Essa área visa identificar a presença desses contaminantes nos alimentos e avaliar o impacto dessa presença na saúde da população``. Para ela, a área de avaliação de risco de contaminantes em alimentos envolve dois pontos críticos principais, sendo o primeiro a capacidade, análise, quantificação e identificação das substâncias nos alimentos, enquanto o segundo é o modo em que a população é exposta a esses contaminantes.  

But what exactly is risk assessment?

 A toxicologia analisa  os efeitos prejudiciais de substâncias em organismos vivos, fornecendo uma base científica para compreensão de suas consequências danosas. This method takes into account not only the toxicity of the agent, but also exposure data and toxicity data, making integrated use of available information regarding toxic potentiality. Thus, in addition to identification and understanding, such analysis prevents future problems and enables treatment at early stages. 

For the Brumadinho Project, toxicological identification in fish will be a key process for identifying the possible risks suffered by the population affected by the dam breach. This is because people  can come into contact with toxic substances in countless ways, such as, for example, through the air, through water, through contact with the soil, or through food consumption. Thus, after the identification, it is essential to guide the population against the risks, such as the consumption of fish, which will be analyzed by Subproject 26. At UFMG, within the Brumadinho Project, there is an adequate structure to carry out the demands, enabling researchers to fulfill their tasks and evaluate the risks in an adequate way.

Want to know more about Subproject 26? Keep following the Brumadinho Project!

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