title: Will technological modernization for power generation at an oil refinery diminish the risks from air pollution to the Atlantic Rainforest in Cubatão, SE Brazil?
abstract: We assessed the level of atmospheric contamination by S, N and metals before, during and after the installation of a new thermoelectric plant that provides power to an oil refinery in Cubatão, SE Brazil. We measured the foliar accumulation in Lolium multiflorum "Lema" with the aim of evaluating risks to the Atlantic Rainforest that grows in the region. Al, Co, Cr, Cu, K, N, Ni, S, V and Zn were appropriate markers of the new air contamination profile associated with the modern technology. With the exception of V, the leaf contents of these elements significantly increased between the pre-operation to post-operation phases (Al, Co, N, K, S), or only during the transition phase (Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni), and returned to the previous levels after the total shutdown of the old system. Therefore, the expected environmental gain was not achieved with the installation of the new technology.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Botânica, Post-Graduate Program in Plant Biodiversity and Environment, Caixa Postal 68041, 04045-972, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Nakazato
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Botânica, Research Center in Ecology, Av. Miguel Stéfano, 3687, Água Funda, Caixa Postal 68041, 04045-972, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mirian C S
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Botânica, Research Center in Ecology, Av. Miguel Stéfano, 3687, Água Funda, Caixa Postal 68041, 04045-972, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: mmingos@superig.com.br.
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Domingos
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019652:Extraction and Processing Industry / Q000379:methods*; D008129:Lolium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008670:Metals; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D011210:Power Plants; D065947:Rainforest; D012922:Social Change
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008670:Metals
keywords: Atlantic Forest; Biomonitoring; Cubatão; Lolium multiflorum; Oil refinery; Risk analysis; Thermoelectric plant