Fluoride concentration in the adjacent vegetation next to fertilizer industries of Cubatao, Sao Paulo State, Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate if fluoride pollution found in 1996 in Cubatao, SP, Brazil, using the vegetation as biomarker, changed in the last ten years. Leaves of Terminalia cattappa located at the industrial area around the industries of fertilizers and in the urban area of the city were collected in 1996 and 2006. They were dried, powdered and fluoride water soluble extracted was analyzes with specific electrode. The fluoride concentration in the leaves around fertilizer industries was 12 times greater than that found in the urban area, either in 1996 or 2006, respectively. The data suggest that in the last ten years the environmental pollution by fluoride in Cubatao has not improved.