Mercury Exposure through Fish Consumption in Traditional Communities in the Brazilian Northern Amazon

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15475111
AutoresSandra S Hacon (0000-0002-8222-0992, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, autor correspondente), Marcelo Oliveira‐da‐Costa (0000-0002-8004-9079, WWF-Brasil, Brasília 70377-540, Brazil), Cecile de Souza Gama (0000-0002-5128-6120, Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas), Renata Ferreira (Iepé-Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena, Macapá, Amapá 68908-120, Brazil), Renata Trotta Barroso Ferreira (0000-0002-9880-8969, Instituto Federal do Amapá), Paulo Cesar Basta (0000-0003-0804-0413, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública), Ana Schramm (0000-0002-0973-0793, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública), Decio Yokota (0000-0002-1876-782X, Instituto Federal do Amapá)
Ano2020
Volume17
Fascículo15
Páginas5269-5269
Data de publicação2020-07-22
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditoraMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph17155269
PMID32707799
OpenAlexW3044727565
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas26

Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the main source of anthropogenic mercury emissions and contamination in Latin America. In the Brazilian northern Amazon, ASGM has contaminated the environment and people over the past century. The main contamination route is through fish consumption, which endangers the food security and livelihoods of traditional communities. Our study aims to assess the potential toxicological health risks caused by the consumption of Hg-contaminated fish across five regions in Amapá State. We sampled 428 fish from 18 sites across inland and coastal aquatic systems. We measured the total mercury content in fish samples, and the results were applied to a mercury exposure risk assessment targeting three distinct groups (adults, women of childbearing age, and children). Mercury contamination was found to exceed the World Health Organization's safe limit in 28.7% of all fish samples, with higher prevalence in inland zones. Moreover, the local preference for carnivorous fish species presents a serious health risk, particularly for communities near inland rivers in the region. This is the first study to provide clear recommendations for reducing the mercury exposure through fish consumption in Amapá State. It builds scientific evidence that helps decision-makers to implement effective policies for protecting the health of riverine communities

Amazon rainforest · Archaeology · Biology · Biomonitoring · Contamination · Diversity of fish · Environmental health · Environmental protection · Fish · Fishery · Geography · Gold mining · Livelihood · Mercury (programming language · MERCURY EXPOSURE · Predatory fish · Socioeconomics · Environmental Science · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Medicine · Mercury impact and mitigation studies · Ecology