Impacts of the ethanol chain: subsidies for an integrated proposition on environmental and worker’s health surveillance

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the negative and positive impacts of the ethanol production chain in municipalities from the agro-industrial complex of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, as a subsidy to elaborate a proposal for integrated and participative surveillance on Health and Environment. Methods: case study based on Environmental Health Surveillance developed in the impact area of an ethanol plant. We used Rapid and Participatory Diagnosis with secondary data, document analysis and interviews. Results: content analysis provided four themes: positive and negative impacts of the ethanol production chain in the direct and indirect enterprise influence area; socio-environmental risks in the territories within the ethanol agro-industrial complex; working conditions and labor relations of (former) workers within the agribusiness chain; Health and Environmental surveillance for medium-sized enterprises in ethanol agro-industrial complexes in the Cerrado region. Conclusion: impacts usually perceived as positive had no permanent social and economic improvements for workers and the local population. Although environmental and occupational health surveillance is non-existent, participatory surveillance contributes to empowering social actors in discussions on labor rights and local social-environmental awareness.