Pointing out geographic and gender disparities related to productivity indicators among Brazilian ecotoxicologists.

Policies and actions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion have been discussed recently in Brazil, but there is still limited information available for most academic and knowledge fields, including ecotoxicology. This study aimed to describe the profile of Brazilian ecotoxicologists and assess gender and geographical disparities, especially regarding productivity indicators. An ecological study was conducted using data of the researchers registered in the open-access database of the Brazilian Society of Ecotoxicology, along with their respective curriculum data available on the Lattes Platform, which is the main registry portal for Brazilian researchers. The target population of our study was ecotoxicology researchers in academic educational institutions with a focus on human resource training. The data, collected in 2021, led to the inclusion of a total of 177 researchers in this study, with 62 men and 115 women, and 42.37% working in the southeastern region. Female researchers generally showed lower rates of scientific productivity when the analyzed metrics included research productivity scholarships, the number of articles published in scientific journals, and the number of articles published with international collaborations, compared to male researchers. Researchers from the southeastern and southern regions also had higher rates of productivity and human resource training compared to those from other regions of the country. The proportion of funding grants received was significantly higher among men, and this profile was also observed among researchers from the southern and southeastern regions, although with a smaller disparity. This means that there is an uneven distribution of funding grants from funding organizations, which favors men and urban centers. Our findings highlight gender and geographic disparities in the scientific production of ecotoxicologists working in Brazil and reinforce the existence of complex obstacles that need to be addressed and combated within scientific societies. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1209-1216. © 2024 SETAC.

Genetic biomonitoring of an urban population exposed to mutagenic airborne pollutants.

Biomonitoring studies have increased as a consequence of risks and effects to human health on exposure to environmental contaminants, mainly air pollutants. Genetic biomarkers are useful tools for the early assessment of exposure to occupational and environmental pollution. The objective of the present study was to investigate genotoxic effects on people residing and/or working downwind from an oil refinery in southern Brazil and the mutagenic activity of airborne particulate matter (PM10). Samples of peripheral blood and buccal mucosa cells were evaluated using the single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay) and the micronucleus (MN) assay, respectively. PM10 samples were collected in the target site and the organic matter extraced with dichloromethane was assessed for mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay. The exposed group (n=37) was compared to a reference group (n=37) of subjects living in an urban area with limited traffic and industrial influence, located far from the main industrial areas. All PM10 organic extracts showed mutagenic positive responses and the effect decreased in the presence of S9 mix indicating that the predominant compounds present were direct-acting mutagens. The responses of YGs strains are consistent with aromatic amines and nitroarenes being present in the PM10 extracts. The group in the area under the influence of the oil refinery (exposed group) showed significantly higher DNA damage in lymphocytes than the reference group. The MN frequencies in buccal mucosa were very low for both groups and no difference between groups was observed. No association was found between age and tobacco smoking habit and level of DNA damages measured by the comet assay. The results indicate that the comet assay was a sensitive tool to detect DNA damage in subjects under the influence of an oil refinery, with marked genotoxic activity in the atmospheric environment.