Problem of brazilian cemeteries and environment – review of studies

Abstract

The Cemeteries in Brazil are considered by the legislation in force as activities that may be subject to environmental licensing. This condition is based in the interaction in which the cemeteries have with natural resources. The main types of cemeteries are the traditional horizontal and parks or gardens, and more recently, vertical. Authors portray the socio-environmental reality of traditional cemeteries based on technical studies conducted in different states. This work aims to analyze each study and synthesize the main information such as applied methods, results obtained and conclusions. Most of the studies analyzed identified degrees of contamination of water and soil, putting the health of living beings at risk. The main methodologies and results evaluated were highlighted and technical and legal recommendations, such as the environmental regularization of Brazilian cemeteries through environmental licensing were pointed out as the conclusion of this work. At last, a diagnosis on the problem of Brazilian cemeteries in relation to the environment was carried out.