This research maps how Rio de Janeiro residents deal with pollutants entering their homes from sources such as vehicles, open waste burning, and seasonal episodes of regionally sourced smoke. The study documents these sources as well as the residents' everyday responses to them—such as opening and closing windows, altering routines, adjusting room usage, and relying on mechanical ventilation. Since the official monitoring network does not cover the majority of the city's territory, residents' accounts serve as a primary source of data regarding the air breathed in these spaces. The study combines home-based ethnography, continuous indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring using sensors, and the analysis of public data. Its objectives include informing harm-reduction measures, distinguishing between strategies that offer protection and those that exacerbate exposure, and providing local health teams with a description of the domestic conditions underlying the clinical and emergency cases they treat.

School of Social Sciences (FGV CPDOC)

Principal Investigator: Beatriz Klimeck

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