Geografia da saúde, urânio e Paraíba: busca de caminhos de pesquisa.

Abstract

Both the 20th and 21st century uranium is a substance of great power and capable of generating transformations either in the fields of science or society, having various applications (war, medicinal, industrial, etc.). However, it is a risk that is sometimes minimized in order to preserve people's health but create contexts of vulnerability. Based on this notion, the aim is to understand the research possibilities in the possibilities of studying the Geography of Health, of Uranium, with an emphasis on the approach of the regional cut of the Seridó Paraíba, more specifically, and research paths within the study of risks from a geographical perspective. To achieve the established goals, procedures were adopted: a) survey of references and; b) documentary survey and c) Mapping of occurrences in Paraíba in the Seridó Paraibano region. When mapping the occurrences of uranium and studying the consequences of radiation for human health such as cancer, it can be noted that the problem permeates social and political contexts, which focus on exposure to uranium salts and related radioactive elements. It is therefore necessary to create support plans and combat these vulnerability scenarios through the geography of health as a cross-sectional geographic area of knowledge and that because there are few works on the subject in this area as a science. Therefore, this as a platform of knowledge must provide evidence and analysis of space to provide answers to such risks, which involve the radioactivity and social vulnerability of the communities in question, since natural occurrences of radioactive substance restricted to a location and are in mostly silent, affecting communities that live there close to where there are occurrences of natural radioactive uranium miners, which can lead to the emergence of neoplasms and other diseases by involuntary exposure to radiation, due to a lack of access to information about. As a result, advances were obtained in the approach of risks and effects on human health by irradiation and as well as a georeferencing of uranium occurrences, in which it was observed presence in 4 municipalities in the region and nearby, in addition to elaborating a research model of intervention that considers the dimensions of risk and application in the theme.