Health risks of environmental exposure to metals and herbicides in the Pardo River, Brazil

Abstract

Mixture of metals and herbicides in rivers may pose relevant risks for the health of surrounding communities. Humans may be exposed to river pollution through intake of contaminated water and fish, as well as irrigated agricultural products. The aim of this study was to assess the human health risks of environmental exposure to metals and herbicides through water and fish intake in the Pardo River. Metals (Al, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Tl, Sn, V, and Zn) were analyzed in river water and in edible fish. Herbicides (ametryn, atrazine, diuron, hexazinone, simazine, and tebuthiuron) were analyzed in river water. Seasonal variances were also studied. Aluminum, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn levels in river water were higher than the USEPA benchmarks. Non-carcinogenic risks due to pollutants mixture exposure were above the limit, and carcinogenic risks of As exposure were >10 in the sampling points during the rainy season. Metal levels in fish were lower than the Brazilian legislation and do not pose a threat to public health. Herbicides were detected in four sampling points, with atrazine concentrations (range 0.16-0.32 μg/L) below the Brazilian standard (2.0 μg/L), but above the European Union standard (0.1 μg/L). Considering the water supply needs of cities located in the Pardo River Basin and the persistence of metals and herbicides, the present study indicated that there was a seasonal influence on non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to human health, especially in the rainy season. Studies for water treatment plants implantation should consider the risks of exposure to persistent substances, in order to protect the population.

Arsenic quantification techniques and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in Brazil

“…However, in water samples, some studies have considerably lower LOQ, such as 0.0007 µg L -1 (Bolea-Fernandez et al, 2015). But most values observed are close to the range (0.04 to 4.00 µg L -1 ), such as 0.21 µg L -1 (Komorowicz and Barałkiewicz, 2016), 0.33 µg L -1 (García-Rico et al, 2019), 0.46 µg L -1 (Kilic et al, 2018) and 0.70 µg L -1 (Machado et al, 2017). In bioindicators, some studies showed values close to those observed in the present data survey, while others showed lower values.…”

“…Recent studies have used ICP MS (Bolea-Fernandez et al, 2015;Oroian et al, 2016;Kaya and Turkoglu, 2017;Machado et al, 2017;De La Cruz et al, 2018), HG AAS (Waterlot and Douay, 2015), ET AAS (Hassanpoor et al, 2015; Rev. Bras.…”

Ecological and human health exposure risks to heavy metals in Oji River sediments: effect of abattoir and power station

“…The locals within the riverside use the water for bathing, washing and cooking and therefore could be exposed to the carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic health effects of some heavy metals. Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and chromium are reported to have both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects, whereas others such as zinc, aluminum, copper have non-carcinogenic health effects [18,24]. It is therefore extremely important to assess the seasonal exposure risks of the water users for the aforementioned purposes.…”

Atrazina Na Água Fluvial: Avaliação De Risco À Saúde Humana Pela Exposição Recreacional

“…Os riscos à saúde humana associados à exposição a contaminantes químicos no ambiente são relevantes no contexto da saúde pública (FLORES et al, 2004;MACHADO et al, 2016). A contaminação da água de rios por herbicidas dificilmente será completamente removida pelo tratamento convencional com a finalidade de abastecimento público (coagulação, floculação, clarificação, filtração e desinfecção), o qual é amplamente utilizado nas estações de tratamento de água brasileiras (MACHADO et al, 2017), e a situação pode ser ainda mais grave em atividades de recreação quando ocorre a ingestão acidental de água do rio.…”

“…Diversos estudos vem sendo realizados para estimar os riscos à saúde humana pela exposição a agentes químicos E microbiológicos em ambientes naturais no Brasil (ALVES et al, 2014;MACHADO et al, 2017;FREGONESI, 2017). No entanto, estudos que avaliem a exposição a herbicidas pela via de ingestão de água durante atividades de recreação ainda são escassos no cenário brasileiro.…”