Contaminación por mercurio de leche materna de madres lactantes de municipios de Antioquia con explotación minera de oro

Abstract

Introduction: Breast milk is essential for human development, but it may contain toxics derived from environmental pollution, especially in mining areas. Objective: To assess the prevalence of mercury contamination in breast milk and factors associated with its transfer to nursing mothers living in municipalities with gold mining. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 150 nursing mothers in four municipalities of Antioquia (El Bagre, Segovia, Remedios and Zaragoza) with a mining tradition. We surveyed these mothers to obtain information on their sociodemographic, occupational and environmentalfactors related to mercury, and we took breast milk, urine and hair samples. We calculated mercury level averages and the contamination prevalence per municipality. Results: Mercury average in breast milk was 2.5 (± standard deviation: 9.2) mg/L. The prevalence of mercury contamination in samples with a high level of mercury was 11.7%. Conclusion: This study shows that there is a serious problem of mercury contamination in gold mining regions of Antioquia, with significant involvement of the most vulnerable population.

Sustainability of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Northeast Antioquia-Colombia

“…For this, each mother was asked to collect 15 milliliters of breast milk in test tubes at any time of the day. After analyzing the samples, it was found that 10.2% of the samples from Segovia exceeded the permissible limit for mercury, while in Remedios, it was 5.6% [21].…”

“…On the other hand, Molina et al [21] collected samples of breast milk from 50 mothers from Segovia and 17 mothers from Remedios to measure the concentration of mercury that was present in them. For this, each mother was asked to collect 15 milliliters of breast milk in test tubes at any time of the day.…”

“…In addition to the above, in these municipalities, fish is one of the main sources of protein in the maternal diet, which highlights the transfer of inorganic mercury from the environment to the food consumed and, later, to breast milk [21]. Inorganic mercury is With these samples, a representative base of 98 panels was formed, which allowed the use of descriptive statistics for data analysis.…”

“…Sustainability 2021, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW transferred through exposure to high concentrations of mercury vapors, a produ proximity of homes to gold stores, where amalgam burning is conducted [21].…”

Minería ilegal aurífera en la Amazonia colombiana: impactos sociales, ambientales y su relación con los cultivos de uso ilícito, a partir del estudio de caso de San José del Fragua, Caquetá

“…Según investigaciones, productos químicos como el mercurio no son fácilmente absorbidos por la piel o el tracto digestivo, pero sí cuando sus vapores son consumidos por vía pulmonar (onu, 2002). Adicionalmente, la exposición crónica al metilmercurio por consumo de peces y semillas con altas concentraciones puede ocasionar alteraciones sensitivas y motoras en el sistema nervioso central y en el cerebro, particularmente durante la infancia y la etapa prenatal, debido a que esta forma mercurial tiene la capacidad de atravesar rápidamente la barrera placentaria cuando el bebé está en formación o, posteriormente, ingresar al organismo del niño a través de la ingesta de leche materna (Molina, Arango & Sepúlveda, 2018;Güiza, 2011).…”