Pas d'enregistrements
Isabel Henriques
2022
MICRANT: Microplastics in Estarreja rivers and their role in the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance
The intense industrial activity in Estarreja region predictably resulted in contamination of aquatic systems with microplastics (MPs). These contaminants provide an ideal niche where pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacteria can proliferate, being transported along rivers and entering the food chain. However, risk assessment of MPs and associated microbes is limited by the scarce information available for these ecosystems. This project aims to determine the abundance and diversity of MPs in Estarreja rivers and to quantify and characterize pathogenic agents and antibiotic resistant bacteria associated to these contaminants. Mesocosm-based studies exposing MPs in rivers will also be carried out to compare the microbes that settle on different types of MPs and in different locations. MICRANT will provide solid quantitative and qualitative data for assessing and predicting the risks related to exposure to MPs and associated microbes.
Elisabete Figueiredo
2018
Publishing of the Book «A Fábrica e a Vida – Narrativas e Imagens dos trabalhadores do Complexo Químico de Estarreja em torno do trabalho nas fábricas, da sua complementaridade com outras atividades e do risco ambiental» (The Factory and the Life – Narrat
In 2015 we proposed a project to OHMI – Estarreja titled A Fábrica e a Vida – Narrativas e Imagens dos trabalhadores do Complexo Químico de Estarreja em torno do trabalho nas fábricas, da sua complementaridade com outras atividades e do risco ambiental», within which 30 in-depth interviews or life stories to current and former workers of the Estarreja Chemical Complex (CQE) were registered. Those life stories constitute a rich patrimony, not only to CQE itself, but also to Estarreja Municipality, as they convey the workers’ narratives about their life trajectories, about the nature of work in the factories, about environmental and health risk perceptions, as well as about the complementary activities.
Ruth Pereira
2016
INV-AVEIRO - The influence of contamination in the metabolic activity of INVertebrates from Ria de AVEIRO
During decades effluents from the Estarreja Chemical Complex were directly discharged in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon through a system of ditches. “Esteiro de Estarreja” was the main channel receiving effluents rich in aromatic based and chlorine compounds and in toxic elements such as As, Hg, Pb and Zn. Consequently, most of the discharged contaminants are settled in the “Esteiro de Estarreja” channel, as well as in the inner basin where this channel discharges, the Laranjo Basin.
Anabela Cachada
2016
SOILgenoMIC - How the contamination of irrigation water ends up in impacts on the genomic diversity and functions of the soil microbial community?
Soil is a vital resource responsible by multiple ecosystem services, crucial for the wellbeing and sustainability of human populations. Only in the last decades, faced with the level of degradation of soils within its territory, the European Commission has recognized the importance of soil functions. Indeed, it is now accepted that the maintenance of soil quality is vital for the European economic competitiveness. For centuries human activities have negatively affected soil functions, for example, through point/diffuse contamination. Estarreja is known for its large chemical complex, and several studies and projects were performed in the region to evaluate the presence of contaminants in groundwater, soil and biota. Some hotspots of contamination (both organic and inorganic) were identified in groundwater, which is used to irrigate farmlands. The cycling of contaminants between soils and aquifers may progressively affect the diversity and key specialized functions of the soil microbial community, especially important in agricultural soils.
