Notable case, Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cidade dos Meninos (former HCH factory)
Cidade dos Meninos, Duque de Caxias
In a district of Duque de Caxias, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, a state factory making organochlorine insecticides against malaria closed in 1961 and left its HCH residues on the spot. An orphanage stood there, and families who grow vegetables and produce milk and meat still live on the land.
At a glance
- Status
- Not addressed
- Activity
- until 1961
- People affected
- 1,700 (2003)1
- Media
- soil, air, living organisms
- Kind of site
- agrochemicals, chemical works
- People affected. Residents at risk according to Oliveira et al. (2003).
Contaminants
Status
Not addressed
In 1989 the state environmental agency FEEMA collected and secured tonnes of pesticide scattered among the ruins; calcium oxide treatment of the main hot spot did not decontaminate the soil, which years later still held up to 7,320 mg/kg of beta-HCH (Oliveira et al. 2003). The risk assessment published in 2008 classes the area as an 'urgent public health hazard'. The sources consulted describe no later work.
Story
Cidade dos Meninos began as an orphanage on federal land; according to Portuguese Wikipedia it came to house more than 1,200 orphans. In its empty pavilions the ministry set up the Institute of Malariology, which a few years later began making organochlorine insecticides, HCH and DDT, for the fight against the malaria mosquito. The factory stopped work in 1961 and the residues stayed among the ruins.
In 1989, after a first survey, FEEMA collected and secured tonnes of pesticide. The most contaminated hot spot was treated with calcium oxide, but analyses made years later still found up to 6,200 mg/kg of alpha-HCH and 7,320 mg/kg of beta-HCH in surface soil: the treatment had not worked (Oliveira et al. 2003).
Later surveys found HCH and DDT in soil, water, air, vegetables and grass, and identified four complete exposure pathways: surface soil, the access road, the food chain and ambient air (Brilhante and Franco 2006). The assessment carried out with the ATSDR method names as target pollutants HCH and its isomers (in eggs, milk and soil), DDT and its metabolites, trichlorobenzenes, trichlorophenols, dioxins and furans (Asmus et al. 2008).
Timeline
- 1961The pesticide factory stops work; the residues stay on site.
- 1989FEEMA collects and secures tonnes of pesticide scattered among the ruins.
- 2003Analyses showing that the calcium oxide treatment failed are published.
- 2004Population survey of pesticides in children's serum (2003–2004).
- 2008The risk assessment classes the area as an urgent public health hazard.
Health
In a population survey in 2003–2004 of 193 children under 15, more than 60% had detectable serum levels of most of the 19 organochlorine pesticides tested; total T3 was above the reference range in 28% of the children and rose with exposure (Freire et al. 2012). For all substances studied except trichlorophenols, estimated doses exceeded the minimal risk levels for chronically exposed children and adults (Asmus et al. 2008).
Remediation
- 1989removal of wasteCollection and safe disposal of tonnes of pesticide by FEEMA.
- —chemical treatment (calcium oxide)Calcium oxide treatment of the most contaminated area; ineffective: years later surface soil still held up to 7,320 mg/kg of beta-HCH.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Cucurbita pepoZucchini, pumpkinDDT and breakdown productsDioxins and furansEvidence: field
- Ricinus communisCastor beanDDT and breakdown productsEvidence: greenhouse
Fungi
- Phanerochaete chrysosporiumPhenols and chlorophenolsDDT and breakdown productsDioxins and furansHexachlorocyclohexane (lindane)Evidence: field
- Trametes versicolorTurkey tailPhenols and chlorophenolsEvidence: field
- Bjerkandera adustaSmoky bracketHexachlorocyclohexane (lindane)Evidence: laboratory
- Fomitopsis pinicolaRed-belted conkDDT and breakdown productsEvidence: laboratory
- Gloeophyllum trabeumDDT and breakdown productsEvidence: laboratory
- Lentinula edodesShiitakePhenols and chlorophenolsEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Sources
- Oliveira R.M. et al. Concentração residual de hexaclorociclohexano em área contaminada na Cidade dos Meninos, Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, após tratamento com óxido de cálcio. Cadernos de Saúde Pública 19(2), SciELO, 2003
- Asmus C.I.R.F. et al. Assessment of human health risk from organochlorine pesticide residues in Cidade dos Meninos, Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cadernos de Saúde Pública 24(4), SciELO, 2008
- Brilhante O.M., Franco R. Exposure pathways to HCH and DDT in Cidade dos Meninos and its surrounding districts of Amapa, Figueiras and Pilar, metropolitan regions of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, Taylor & Francis, 2006
- Freire C. et al. Long term exposure to organochlorine pesticides and thyroid function in children from Cidade dos Meninos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Environmental Research, Elsevier, 2012
- Cidade dos Meninos, Wikipedia (pt), 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.