Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories

Smoke particulate matter emitted by fires in the Amazon Basin poses a threat to human health. Past research on this threat has mainly focused on the health impacts on countries as a whole or has relied on hospital admission data to quantify the health response. Such analyses do not capture the impac...

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Main Authors: Bonilla, E.X., Mickley, L.J., Raheja, G., Eastham, S.D., Buonocore, J.J., Alencar, A., Verchot, Louis, Westervelt, D.M., Castro, M.C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IOP Publishing 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139047
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author Bonilla, E.X.
Mickley, L.J.
Raheja, G.
Eastham, S.D.
Buonocore, J.J.
Alencar, A.
Verchot, Louis
Westervelt, D.M.
Castro, M.C.
author_browse Alencar, A.
Bonilla, E.X.
Buonocore, J.J.
Castro, M.C.
Eastham, S.D.
Mickley, L.J.
Raheja, G.
Verchot, Louis
Westervelt, D.M.
author_facet Bonilla, E.X.
Mickley, L.J.
Raheja, G.
Eastham, S.D.
Buonocore, J.J.
Alencar, A.
Verchot, Louis
Westervelt, D.M.
Castro, M.C.
author_sort Bonilla, E.X.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Smoke particulate matter emitted by fires in the Amazon Basin poses a threat to human health. Past research on this threat has mainly focused on the health impacts on countries as a whole or has relied on hospital admission data to quantify the health response. Such analyses do not capture the impact on people living in Indigenous territories close to the fires and who often lack access to medical care and may not show up at hospitals. Here we quantify the premature mortality due to smoke exposure of people living in Indigenous territories across the Amazon Basin. We use the atmospheric chemistry transport model GEOS-Chem to simulate PM 2.5 from fires and other sources, and we apply a recently updated concentration dose-response function. We estimate that smoke from fires in South America accounted for ∼12 000 premature deaths each year from 2014–2019 across the continent, with about ∼230 of these deaths occurring in Indigenous lands. Put another way, smoke exposure accounts for 2 premature deaths per 100 000 people per year across South America, but 4 premature deaths per 100 000 people in the Indigenous territories. Bolivia and Brazil represent hotspots of smoke exposure and deaths in Indigenous territories in these countries are 9 and 12 per 100 000 people, respectively. Our analysis shows that smoke PM 2.5 from fires has a detrimental effect on human health across South America, with a disproportionate impact on people living in Indigenous territories.
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spelling CGSpace1390472025-11-11T17:39:43Z Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories Bonilla, E.X. Mickley, L.J. Raheja, G. Eastham, S.D. Buonocore, J.J. Alencar, A. Verchot, Louis Westervelt, D.M. Castro, M.C. indigenous peoples air quality public health smokes exposition indigenous peoples' lands-indigenous lands Smoke particulate matter emitted by fires in the Amazon Basin poses a threat to human health. Past research on this threat has mainly focused on the health impacts on countries as a whole or has relied on hospital admission data to quantify the health response. Such analyses do not capture the impact on people living in Indigenous territories close to the fires and who often lack access to medical care and may not show up at hospitals. Here we quantify the premature mortality due to smoke exposure of people living in Indigenous territories across the Amazon Basin. We use the atmospheric chemistry transport model GEOS-Chem to simulate PM 2.5 from fires and other sources, and we apply a recently updated concentration dose-response function. We estimate that smoke from fires in South America accounted for ∼12 000 premature deaths each year from 2014–2019 across the continent, with about ∼230 of these deaths occurring in Indigenous lands. Put another way, smoke exposure accounts for 2 premature deaths per 100 000 people per year across South America, but 4 premature deaths per 100 000 people in the Indigenous territories. Bolivia and Brazil represent hotspots of smoke exposure and deaths in Indigenous territories in these countries are 9 and 12 per 100 000 people, respectively. Our analysis shows that smoke PM 2.5 from fires has a detrimental effect on human health across South America, with a disproportionate impact on people living in Indigenous territories. 2023-06-01 2024-02-07T14:38:37Z 2024-02-07T14:38:37Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139047 en Open Access application/pdf IOP Publishing Bonilla, E.X.; Mickley, L.; Raheja, G.; Eastham, S.; Buonocore, J.; Alencar, A.; Verchot, L.; Westervelt, D.; Castro, M. (2023) Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories. Environmental Research: Health 1(2): 021007. ISSN: 2752-5309
spellingShingle indigenous peoples
air quality
public health
smokes
exposition
indigenous peoples' lands-indigenous lands
Bonilla, E.X.
Mickley, L.J.
Raheja, G.
Eastham, S.D.
Buonocore, J.J.
Alencar, A.
Verchot, Louis
Westervelt, D.M.
Castro, M.C.
Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title_full Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title_fullStr Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title_full_unstemmed Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title_short Health impacts of smoke exposure in South America: increased risk for populations in the Amazonian Indigenous territories
title_sort health impacts of smoke exposure in south america increased risk for populations in the amazonian indigenous territories
topic indigenous peoples
air quality
public health
smokes
exposition
indigenous peoples' lands-indigenous lands
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139047
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