EVALUATION OF THE MUSSEL SHELL Perna leg AS AN INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION BY METALS/METALLOIDS AND METALLIC NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

Atmospheric pollution from metallurgical industries poses a serious risk to the environment due to the emission of smoke containing metallic particulate matter. This study aims to investigate whether exposure to settlaeble atmospheric particulate matter (SePM) from metallurgical industries alters the shell structure of the mussel species Perna perna, a bivalve mollusk found on rocky shores. The SePM originates from the Tubarão complex, which includes iron ore pelletizing activities, the export of iron ore dust and pellets through the Tubarão port, steel production industries with different metal alloys, and exportation. For the structural analysis of the shells, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis and/or energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) will be used, allowing the identification of metallic particles in the shells. These data will be correlated with the chemical analysis of metals and metalloids in the material and the SePM sample used in the experiment. The results of these analyses aim to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the shell composition, offering a qualitative analysis by relating it to the presence of intrinsic metallic particles in the shell of this mollusk exposed to settling atmospheric particulate matter over a chronic 30-day test.