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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium
Published on: December 17, 2018
[Reliability of a questionnaire about knowledge concerning exposure to mercury in the production of gold]
Volney de Magalhães Câmara1, Delma P Oliveira de Souza, Maria Izabel Freitas Filhote
1Instituto de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. volney@iesc.ufrj.br
Abstract:
The primary economic activity of the municipality of Poconé, Central-West Brazil, is the production of gold. In an attempt to reduce exposure to metallic mercury, schools in that location conduct educative programs directed towards their students. A questionnaire used to evaluate the efficacy of these programs with respect to adolescents' comprehension concerning exposure to mercury was developed in 2007. This questionnaire is self-applied and has 12 questions. A test-retest reliability study, with a 21-day interval between the two sessions, was performed with this instrument. The sample was comprised of 128 students who were in the 8th grade of elementary school. Reliability was evaluated by Kappa coefficient and McNemar's chi-square test, resulting from 'moderate' to 'almost perfect' agreement.
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