Anne Hèlène Fostier

• Professor
• Associate Professor at State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)

Antimicrobials, among other veterinary drugs, are used worldwide in industry and agriculture to protect animal health and prevent economic loss. In recent years, they have been detected in various environmental compartments, including soil, surface and groundwater and have become a topic of research interest. Emphasizing this class of compounds, th...

This work aims to assess a method for total Hg quantification in soil and leaf samples by using a Direct Mercury Analyzer® (DMA-80 TRICELL; Milestone Inc., Italy). Standard Reference materials of tree leaves, river sediment and soil, and collected samples of soil and leaves were used to optimize and to validate the method. Given that the technique...

The present speciation method reports the determination of inorganic arsenic forms, using metallic furnace hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The inorganic As speciation is carried out using mild conditions for hydride formation, such as slightly acid pH media (4.50) and low tetrahydridoborate(1-) concentration (0.1% (w/v)). Limits...

Several recent studies have indicated that forest fires are likely to re-emit important quantities of atmospherically deposited mercury (Hg) to the atmosphere. Although the Amazon forest accounts for approximately 25% of the world's total rainforest, few data are available about these emissions. The emissions of mercury from prescribed fires of two...

Environmental context Wet deposition is a primary mechanism for transferring atmospheric mercury (Hg) to Earth’s surface. In Brazil, as well as in the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, only limited data on wet Hg deposition are available. This article addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive dataset from nearly 2 years of monitoring, focusing...

Environmental context Understanding how mercury cycles through the environment is crucial for protecting ecosystems and human health. Our study is among the first to measure mercury concentrations in Eucalyptus forest soils and litter and estimate emissions from prescribed burns, addressing a significant gap in current knowledge. These new data enh...

Methylmercury in soils and vegetation from the Amazonian rainforest is still poorly studied. Hence, the aim of this work was to determine the total mercury [THg] and methylmercury [MeHg] concentrations in litter and surface soil, MeHg deposition via litterfall, and the MeHg fate during a forest fire in the Amazonian rainforest. Sampling of litter,...

Mercury (Hg) emissions from forest fires, especially tropical forests such as the Amazonian forest, were shown to contribute significantly to the atmospheric mercury budget, but new methods are still necessary to improve the traceability and to reduce the great uncertainties related to this emission source. Recent studies have shown that the combus...

The diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique pre-concentrates labile species of trace elements, giving time-integrated in situ information about their labile concentrations. All previous DGT approaches for simultaneous uptake of cations and anions have used the hazardous polyacrylamide reagent to immobilize the binding phase. The present w...

Uptake and transformation of arsenic (As) by living organisms can alter its distribution and biogeochemical cycles in the environment. Although well known for its toxicity, several aspects of As accumulation and biological transformation by field species are still little explored. In this study, the bioaccumulation and speciation of As in phytoplan...

The occurrence of high arsenic concentrations (up to 3000 μg L-1) in water of soda lakes of the Pantanal wetland is a remarkable case of natural arsenic contamination in South America. However, little is known about arsenic speciation in this environment, particularly regarding speciation changes related to lake trophic status and seasonal variatio...

Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is a global concern requiring action at national scales. Scientific understanding and regulatory policies are underpinned by global extrapolation of Northern Hemisphere Hg data, despite historical, political, and socioeconomic differences between the hemispheres that impact Hg sources and sinks. In this pape...

Recent studies demonstrate a short 3-6-month atmospheric lifetime for mercury (Hg). This implies Hg emissions are predominantly deposited within the same hemisphere in which they are emitted, thus placing increasing importance on considering Hg sources, sinks and impacts from a hemispheric perspective. In the absence of comprehensive Hg data from t...

Methylmercury (MeHg) is highly toxic to the human brain. Although much is known about MeHg neurotoxic effects, less is known about how chronic MeHg affects hippocampal amino acids and other neurochemical markers in adult mice. In this study, we evaluated the MeHg effects on systemic lipids and inflammation, hippocampal oxidative stress, amino acid...

In situ fractionation and redox speciation of As in three different saline-alkaline lakes (green, black and crystalline lakes) in the Pantanal of Nhecolândia (Brazil) were performed by using Diffusive Gradients in Thin films (DGT). The results indicated that As is present mainly in dissolved form. Total As concentration was similar when using diffe...

Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust, exhibiting toxicity towards a wide range of living organisms. Its properties and environmental dynamics are strongly regulated by its speciation, and the species As(III) and As(V) are the most commonly found in environmental systems. Recently, high concentrations of As were found i...

We evaluated Hibiscus cannabinus (kenaf) to remedy oxisol contaminated with Hg 2 + potential. The study was conducted in a controlled environment in pots with soil contaminated with HgCl2 solution, in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments: control (without Hg 2+) and treatments with 5, 24 and 36 mg Hg 2+ kg-1 of soil and 5 replicates / t...

Chemical speciation is a relevant topic in environmental chemistry since the (eco)toxicity, bio(geo)chemical cycles, and mobility of a given element depend on its chemical forms (oxidation state, organic ligands, etc.). Maintaining the chemical stability of the species and avoiding equilibrium disruptions during the sample treatment is one of the b...

The incorporation of metal nanoparticles (MeNPs), such as gold and silver (AuNPs and AgNPs), in polymer matrices for a diversity of applications, has gained much interest in recent years. However, a viable strategy for producing uniform samples remains challenging. In this work, we have demonstrated a facile procedure for loading AuNPs and AgNPs on...

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic metals and is not essential for any organism. In this study, the potential of maize plants in association with bacteria to treat oxisol contaminated with Hg (II) was evaluated. The experiment was conducted in a controlled environment, and pots with 2 kg of oxisol were contaminated with HgCl2 solution at a dose...

EFFECT OF Hg2+ AND OF THE IONS Cu2+, Fe2+, Ni2+, Sn2+, AND Zn2+ ON THE STABILITY OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PRACTICE OF EXPERIMENTAL NANOTECHNOLOGY. The growing predominance of nanoscience and nanotechnology makes it increasingly important that these topics become an integral part of all scientific education. For this reason, in...

Although high levels of dissolved arsenic were detected in surface and ground waters of Nhecolandia, a subregion of the vast Pantanal wetlands in Brazil, the possible sources have not been clearly identified and the potential release from the wetland to the draining rivers has not been investigated. In this study we measured the dissolved As conten...

Metagenomics is a powerful approach to study microorganisms present in any given environment and their potential to maintain and improve ecosystem health without the need of cultivating these microorganisms in the laboratory. In this study, we combined a cultivation-independent metagenomics approach with functional assays to identify the detoxifica...

Metagenomics is a powerful approach to study microorganisms present in any given environment and their potential to maintain and improve ecosystem health without the need of cultivating these microorganisms in the laboratory. In this study, we combined a cultivation-independent metagenomics approach with functional assays to identify the detoxifica...

A Nhecolândia, uma sub-região do Pantanal, possui cerca 15.000 lagoas, sendo que cerca de 500 delas são de caráter salino-alcalino (8,5<pH<10,5). É importante destacar a presença natural do arsênio (As) nessas lagoas alcalinas, nas quais já foram medidas concentrações de até 3,7 mg As L-1 na coluna de água, enquanto o limite de concentração para ág...

A Nhecolândia é uma sub-região do Pantanal caracterizada por um sistema de ~15000 lagoas, entre as quais ~500 apresentam águas salinas e alcalinas (8,5<pH<10,5) com altas concentrações (ate 4 mg/L) de Arsênio (As) de origem natural, porém baixas concentrações de As nos sedimentos (até 25 mg/kg). O presente estudo objetivou uma avaliação sobre a con...

Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of animal protein, requiring the large-scale use of veterinary drugs. The administration of antimicrobials and antiparasitics is a common practice. However, there is a lack of information on how these drugs impact the environment. Antimicrobials are capable of altering the soil microbial population and...

Experiments in saturated soil columns were performed to investigate the transport and retention of 25 nm and 75 nm silver nanoparticles stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP-AgNPs) in two Brazilian soils (sandy and sandy-clay). The normalized concentration of the PVP-AgNPs was obtained through a flow injection analysis method based on the surfa...

Mercury emissions from artisanal gold mining operations occurring in roughly 80 developing countries are a major workplace health hazard for millions of people as well as the largest contributor to global mercury pollution. There are no portable, cheap, and rapid methods able to inform workers or health practitioners of mercury exposure on site in...

Thiabendazole (TBZ) is an ionizable anthelmintic agent that belongs to the class of benzimidazoles. It is widely used in veterinary medicine and as a fungicide in agriculture. Sorption and desorption are important processes influencing transport, transformation, and bioavailability of xenobiotic compounds in soils; data related to sorption capacity...

This paper aims to present an overview of the ongoing of the Brazilian environmental chemistry over the last forty years inserted in the context of the Brazilian Chemical Society (SBQ). Initially, a brief history presents the main milestones and premise of its "birth" in the 1980s, as well as the set of major actions taken within the SBQ to consoli...

This study reports a functional passive sampler for monitoring gaseous elemental mercury (GEM). The material consists of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) deposited forming a film on thiolmodified glass slides. AuNP colloid was synthesized using sodium citrate, resulting in a size of 24.2 ± 0.8 nm, as determined by transmission electron microscopy analysis...

Forest litter was burned in a combustion chamber. Particulate matter emitted during the fire was sampled on a multistage impactor with particles nominal cut size ranging from 10000 nm to 10 nm.The PM mass and the Hg concentration were determined for each stage by Direct Mercury Analyzer .The results show that the main part of PBM emitted during for...

The Todos os Santos bay (TSB) is the second largest Brazilian bay. Despite the large number of potential anthropogenic sources of mercury (Hg) in the bay, data on this element in this marine environment are very scarce. Total Hg concentrations were therefore determined in sediment, macroalgae, and seagrass species collected during dry and rainy sea...

Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug that is regularly employed in veterinary medicine. In this work, the sorption and desorption of IVM in two Brazilian soils (N1-sand and S2-clay) as well as its leaching capacity, dissipation under aerobic conditions, and degradation in aqueous solution by photocatalysis with TiO2 in suspension...

Forests represent an important role in the control of atmospheric emissions through carbon capture. However, in forest fires, the carbon stored during photosynthesis is released into the atmosphere. The carbon quantification, in forest burning, is important for the development of measures for its control. The aim of this study was to quantify CO2 a...

Sulfonamides are among the most widely employed antibacterial in veterinary medicine. Because a substantial proportion of sulfonamides are excreted unchanged as parent compounds after administration or are excreted as their metabolites through urine and feces, their presence in soils is a matter of concern. Adsorption and desorption are important p...

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is a hazardous material that can lead to serious health problems. Its emission on the environment can originate from natural and anthropogenic sources at global scale. Accordingly, there is a strong need for the development of GEM sensors which are highly sensitive, portable and cheap. In this context, the production...

Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) is a hazardous material that can lead to serious health problems. Its emission on the environment can originate from natural and anthropogenic sources at global scale. Accordingly, there is a strong need for the development of GEM sensors which are highly sensitive, portable and cheap. In this context, the production...

Forest fires have been pointed out as a significant source of Hg emission. For the Brazilian Amazon, direct Hg emissions due to forest fires have been estimated between 6 to 9 ton/year, both from the burning of biomass and of superficial soil1. The goal of this work was to investigate the influence of some parameters on the Hg emissions during fore...

Forest ecosystems are a sink of atmospheric mercury, trapping the metal in the canopy, and storing it in the forest floor after litter fall. Fire liberates a portion of this mercury; however, little is known about the long-term release of mercury post deforestation. We conducted two large-scale experiments to study this phenomenon. In upstate New Y...

In this paper, we present the results obtained for the determination of particulate-bound mercury (PHg) collected on a glass fiber filter by a combustion–AAS technique using a Direct Mercury Analyzer® (DMA-80 TRICELL; Milestone Inc., Italy). The accuracy of the method was demonstrated by comparison with the U.S. EPA IO-5 method. Sampling was always...

OCCURRENCE, BEHAVIOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS CAUSED BY THE PRESENCE OF VETERINARY ANTIMICROBIALS IN SOILS. Antimicrobials, among other veterinary drugs, are used worldwide in industry and agriculture to protect animal health and prevent economic loss. In recent years, they have been detected in various environmental compartments, including soil,...

Embora com pouca atividade humana, as concentrações de Hg na bacia do Rio Negro são relativamente altas. A presença natural de Hg em solos e a deposição atmosférica são as principais fontes deste metal. O balanço entre fluxos invasivos e evasivos sugerem o seu acúmulo no interior da bacia em 39.9 t ano -1 . O tipo de solo, fonte de metal para os ri...

Arsenic oxidation (As(III) to As(V)) and As(V) removal from water were assessed by using TiO2 immobilized in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles in the presence of natural sunlight and iron salts. The effect of many parameters was sequentially studied: TiO2 concentration of the coating solution, Fe(II) concentration, pH, solar irradiation time...

Here, we show a fast and sensitive method for the determination of inorganic arsenic in natural waters using differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry. All the arsenite determinations were done in 2.0molL−1 HCl+3.15×10−4molL−1 Cu(II) supporting electrolyte. 1×10−3molL−1 sodium thiosulphate was used as As(V) reducing agent. The detection lim...

The contribution of biomass burning to atmospheric mercury (Hg) emisssion could be significant on the local, regional and global scales. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence offorest burning on the atmospheric mercury concentration in the region ofAlta Floresta, Mato Grosso State, Southern Amazon. Measurements were carried out in Sept...

The concentrations of Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) and Total Particulate Mercury (TPM) were monitored during the 2002-2003 rainy and dry seasons at two sampling points (industrial and residential areas) of the Campinas Metropolitan Region. No significant difference was observed between the concentrations found at the two sampling areas and the mean...

An investigation of air/surface exchange of mercury, performed at the Negro River Basin, (Amazonian region) in January 2003 and January 2004, is presented. Five sites were investigated: a flooding primary forest, a non-flooding primary forest and three deforested areas. The fluxes were estimated by using a dynamic flux chamber with sampling times v...

Gaseous mercury sampling conditions were optimized and a dynamic flux chamber was used to measure the air/surface exchange of mercury in some areas of the Negro river basin with different vegetal coverings. At the two forest sites (flooding and non-flooding), low mercury fluxes were observed: maximum of 3 pmol m-2 h-1 - day and minimum of –1 pmol m...

Gaseous mercury sampling conditions were optimized and a dynamic flux chamber was used to measure the air/surface exchange of mercury in some areas of the Negro river basin with different vegetal coverings. At the two forest sites (flooding and non-flooding), low mercury fluxes were observed: maximum of 3 pmol m-2 h-1 - day and minimum of -1 pmol m...

A sampling and analysis program has been completed between 1995 and 1998 in order to determine mercury concentrations in water, sediments, soils and fish in the Piracicaba river basin, one of the most populated and industrialized regions in Brazil. In sediment, the average Hg concentrations varied between 33 17 ng g−1 and 106 78 ng g−1, in samples...

This work describes the study of anthropogenic mercury emissions in the city of Paulinia (Silo Paulo State, Brazil), where it was possible to identify at least twelve po-tential emission sources. Using international emission factors and infonllation obtained for the potential emission sources, it was also possible to estimate the annual anthropo-ge...

Studies were carried out to investigate the contamination of Piracicaba and Mogi-Guaçu River basins (São Paulo State, Southeastern, Brazil) for heavy metals (Cd and Pb), using the limnic bivalve Anodontites trapesialis as a biological monitor. The results showed that the concentrations of Pb were higher than the control group in both basins, showin...

A monitoring project for two forest catchments was establisbed in 2001 in Sâo Paulo State, Brazil. The chosen catchments differed significantly with respect to human occupation. One catchment area, PEFI (23°39$'$S and 46°37$'$W), is inside the largest metropolis of South America, the city of São Paulo, within a Park of 549.3 ha, located about 50 km...

This work focuses on the behaviour of mercury in lateritic soil profiles found in the Serra do Navio and Tartarugalzinhoareas of the State of Amap in Northern Brazil. The Hg contents are high in the upper horizons of the soil profiles(100–300 g kg-1), and decrease to less than 100 g kg-1 at depths of 200 or 300 cm. The higher levels of Hg are assoc...

The rainfall chemical composition in two Amazonian ecosystems, a "terra firme" forest (dense tropical rain forest) and the "cerrado" (savanna) are presented. Both areas are located in the northeast Brazilian Amazon (Amapá State). This study evaluated the statistical differences in the rainfall chemistry, as well as the deposition through rainfall,...

Mercury (Hg total) fluxes were calculated for rainwater, throughfall and stream water in a small catchment located in the northeastern region of the Brazilian Amazon (Serra do Navio, Amapá State), whose upper part is covered by a natural rainforest and lower part was altered due to deforestation and activities related to manganese mining. The catch...

A history of trace metal export from the highly disturbed Piracicaba River basin (second largest developed center in Brazil) has been investigated by analyzing sediment cores and by correlating the results with historical records of land use changes in this basin which has highly intensified since the 70's. Sediment dating and accumulation rate cal...

In the present work, results from a survey on mercury concentration in sediments and soils from a gold mining area along the Vila Nova river, in Amapa State, Brazil, are presented. These values were compared with those from the Igarape: Pedra Preta basin, an area unaffected by mining activities. Total mercury contents were determined in the muddy (...

Total Hg was determined in sediment, piscivorous fish and human hair from two similar lake areas in Amapá State, Brazilian Amazon: Duas Bocas Lake (DBL), influenced by Hg releases from gold mining; and Pracuúba Lake (PL), a pristine site 15 km to the north. In DBL, Hg profiles in sediments clearly documented the evolution of Hg pollution, and Hg wa...

A pyrolysis chamber is described for the direct determination of mercury in sediments by atomic absorption spectrometry. The finely ground and dried sample is weighed (2.0–60.0 mg), transferred to a quartz cup, inserted in a pyrolysis chamber and heated at 1100 °C for 30 s by means of three focused infrared lamps in the presence of an air stream as...

A pyrolysis chamber is described for the direct determination of mercury in sediments by atomic absorption spectrometry. The finely ground and dried sample is weighed (2.0-60.0 mg), transferred to a quartz cup, inserted in a pyrolysis chamber and heated at 1100 °C for 30 s by means of three focused infrared lamps in the presence of an air stream as...

An on-line microwave-assisted decomposition procedure for the determination of lead in fish is proposed. 300 µL slurry and 400 µL of a 6 mol L-1 HNO3 solution were simultaneously injected, and the mixture was positioned inside a microwave oven. The decomposed sample inside the flushing solution was collected in the autosampler cup of a graphite fur...

The chemical composition of the phycocolloids from two Senegalense red algae Anatheca montagnei and Meridtotheca senegalensis (Soleriaceae) hás been compared with the hybrid iota-kappa carrageenan from Euchema spinosum. A partially desulfated major iota carrageenan was identified. The milk strengths of gels from Senegalese species were similar from...

RESUMO No presente trabalho, apresentam-se os resultados das análises de sedimentos da região do Tartarugalzinho, que tem recebido importantes emissões de Hg provenientes de minerações de ouro estabelecidas recentemente. As amostras de sedimentos foram submetidas à análise por ativação com nêutrons instrumental e os seguintes elementos foram determ...

Soil and sediment samples, collected in two different regionsfrom Amapá State, Vila Nova river basin and Amapari river valley, were separated in the sandy and muddy fractions. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) was applied to analyse the samples, making possible to quantify 32 elements, including mercury)-: in both fractions. Precision and accuracy...

The present paper presents the chemicals for the rainfall, throughfall and stream waters in a small catchment (164 ha) in NE Amazon. The results cover three year from May/1995 until September/1997. In the water samples the following species were analysed: Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NH4+, Cl', NO; e SO42., AI3+, Fe3+, Mn2+, CU2+ e Zn2+. The budgets were c...

High Hg levels found in the Brazilian Amazon environ- ment have been attributed mainly to gold mining activities (Nriagu. 1992; Hylander, 1994). Forest fires also have been identified as an important Hg source (Veiga, 1994). However. recently high Hg concentrations have been found in fish and human tissues in regions where there are no known anthro...

Total Hg was determined in sediment, camivorous fish and human hair of two similar lakes in Amapá state, Brazilian Amazon, one lake being influenced by Hg releases from a goldmining field and the other noto Hg concentrations were clearly higher in samples from the impacted lake, and fish and human hair levels were above the recomended safety limits...

Three camivorous fish species werc used as bio-indicators to detennine the influence of golmining activities in the TartarugaIzinho lakc (Amapá state, Brazilian Amazon) and the background Hg concentration in the Pracuúba lake, 30 km away, which has no man-made Hg sources in its watershed. The results show a clear influence of golmining activity on...