The lead contamination in Santo Amaro (BA) has been studied for almost 40 years since the first evidences were found in blood samples from workers of the Brazilian Lead (COBRAC), and in urine and hair of fishermen. The persistence of the contamination continues motivating further research, even after 20 years of closure Cobrac, which highlights the lack of public policies to avert the risk of contamination of the exposed population, especially children and adult women. This article presents a chronological and critical analysis of scientific literature on the case and discusses the limited participation of the Social Sciences in the discussion, and the need for inclusion of affected based on the prospect of expanding the peer community (Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1997). From the perception that the research did not return to the community (Di Giulio, 2010), it was found that only 6.45% of this scientific production were available in local libraries.
Lead contamination; Santo Amaro; Social sciences; Return researches