Objective: To estimate the degree of internal exposure to organochlorine pesticides (persistent organic pollutants, POP) among inhabitants of an open-air dump.
Methods: This was an observational study with simultaneous measurement and control, in which the criterion for subjects was that they dwelled in an area contaminated by POP and the effect of such contamination was the concentration of such substances into the blood. The study population consisted of 238 people living on an open-air dump in Pil es, in the municipality of Cubatão, SP, Brazil, and the control population was formed by 258 people, also resident in that municipality, in the Cota 200 district.