ambiental

1523

Ground-clearing fires in the Amazon and respiratory disease

Karen dos Santos Gonçalves 1
Hermano Albuquerque de Castro 2
Sandra de Souza Hacon 1

1

Departamento de Endemias
Samuel Pessoa, Escola
Nacional de Saúde Pública
Sergio Arouca, Fundação
Oswaldo Cruz. Rua
Leopoldo Bulhões 1480/601,
Manguinhos. 21041-210
Rio de Janeiro RJ. [e-mail] 2
Centro de Estudos de Saúde do Trabalhador e Ecologia
Humana, Escola Nacional de
Saúde Pública Sergio
Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo
Cruz.

Abstract The intentional burning of forest biomass commonly known as “ground-clearing fires” is an age-old and widespread practice in the country and is seen as a major contributor to global emissions of greenhouse gases. However, global awareness of their potential impact is relatively recent.
The occurrence of large ground-clearing fires in the Brazilian and international scenarios drew attention to the problem, but the measures taken to prevent and/or control the fires are still insufficient. In the Amazon region, with distinct geographical and environmental features from the rest of the country, with its historic process of land occupation, every year the ground-clearing fires expose larger portions of the population making them vulnerable to its effects. In this context, this non-systematic review presents the papers written over the past five years about the fires in the
Brazilian Amazon and respiratory illness. The main objective is to provide information for managers and leaders on environmental issues about the problems related to biomass burning in the
Amazon region.
Key words Ground-clearing fires, Respiratory disease, Amazon forest, Air pollution

Resumo A queima de biomassa florestal popularmente conhecida como “queimada” é uma prática recorrente e antiga no país e se caracteriza como um dos principais contribuintes mundiais para a emissão de gases de efeito estufa. Entretanto, a consciência global sobre seus