RIO DE JANEIRO - The 6,000 residents of the 59-building Barón de Mauá condominium complex, located 28 km from Sao Paulo, have just learned that they are living over a garbage dump that is releasing 44 volatile toxic substances, including the carcinogen benzene.

An explosion related to the gases occurred 16 months ago, killing one person, but only now has the contamination of the area been officially confirmed, and is blamed on Cofap, an auto parts manufacturer.

The Barón de Mauá residents are to undergo medical tests. Meanwhile, the authorities acknowledge that other similar cases exist, the result of Brazil's lack of legislation regulating the disposal of industrial waste.

LIMA - The Guillermo Barone Association of Plastic Arts has joined the campaign in Peru against the construction of a factory by the Chilean firm Luchetti in one of the last wetland areas of Lima Valley.

The Association has announced a traveling exposition of landscapes of 'Pantanos de la Villa', the natural reserve targeted for construction. The show consists of works painted by the group's members.

In 1988, Luchetti, a pasta manufacturer, obtained authorization from the Chorrillos municipality - through irregular channels - to build its plant in a prohibited zone.

A video was found last year that shows the company's representatives allegedly bribing authorities of the Alberto Fujimori government (1990-2000) to prevent the eviction that had been legally ordered by Lima's Metropolitan Municipal Council.

CARACAS - Venezuela is set to begin exporting to Italy the pelts of the 'chigüire', or capybara, the largest rodent species on Earth, which inhabits river areas in Central and South America. The mammal's meat is also in high demand.

The project, coordinated by the Environment Ministry, is to take place in Hato El Cedral, a wildlife refuge located in the Venezuelan plains.

There, animal biologists have raised 22 chigüire in captivity. The animal is more widely known for its meat, say the reserve's authorities, and its pelt was not in demand prior to the purchase orders from Italy.

SANTIAGO - The worst episodes of air pollution in the Chilean capital last year resulted in 520 deaths, 20,000 additional visits to respiratory health centers, and the loss of nearly a million workdays.

Such were the principal conclusions of a study released last week by Luis Cifuentes, an environmental expert at the Catholic University here.

Cifuentes compared statistics on deaths, hospital visits and work absenteeism on ''normal'' days with those from days of worst air contamination in Santiago, home to five million people.

He calculated 500 dollars in damages arising from airborne contamination in the Chilean capital, which - alongside Mexico City and Sao Paulo - suffers the worst air pollution in Latin America.