Heavy Metal Enrichment Factors in Fluvial Sediments of an Amazonian Basin Impacted by Gold Mining

Mora, Abrahan; Jumbo-Flores, Diana; González-Merizalde, Max; Bermeo-Flores, Santos Amable; Alvarez-Figueroa, Pablo; Mahlknecht, Jürgen; Hernández-Antonio, Arturo

doi:10.1007/s00128-019-02545-w

Cited by 28 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The sites that reported human health risk above the safe exposure threshold are close to mining activities and landfills ( Figure 3). These results were to be expected since mining, mainly illegal, has been widely recognized as a polluting activity in the Ecuadorian Amazon [29,31,32,54,55]. Similar results were reported in the Brazilian Amazon, where discharges from gold mining activities still contribute to high concentrations of PTEs in soils, waters, and sediments [6,56,57].…”

Section: Point Risk Mapssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…However, the presence of PTEs such as Cd, Cr, and Pb and the human health risk through multiple exposure pathways have not been documented accordingly [56]. Many studies have reported excessive concentrations of PTEs in Ecuadorian Amazon rivers [29,31,32,54,55]. Therefore, it is very likely that these high levels of PTEs are related to the appearance of serious health problems in local populations.…”

Section: Environmental Management and Public Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Ecuadorian Amazon is an area with considerable biodiversity [28], but anthropogenic activities, mainly petroleum extraction and illegal gold mining, have caused severe environmental pollution and negative impacts on ecosystems [29][30][31][32]. Anthropogenic pollution represents a potential health hazard for the surrounding population [33]; therefore, it is necessary to establish whether contamination by PTEs in the Amazon rivers endangers river users' health.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Potentially Toxic Elements in Polluted Rivers in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Jiménez-Oyola

Escobar-Segovia

García-Martínez

et al. 2021

Water

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Anthropogenic activities performed in the Ecuadorian Amazon have released potentially toxic elements (PTEs) into the rivers, causing severe environmental pollution and increasing the risk of exposure to the residents of the surrounding areas. This study aims to carry out a human health risk assessment using deterministic and probabilistic methods to estimate the hazard index (HI) and total cancer risk (TCR) related to multi-pathway human exposure to PTEs in polluted rivers. Concentrations of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface water and sediment samples from rivers on the Ecuadorian Amazon were considered to assess the potential adverse human health effects. As a result, deterministic and probabilistic estimations of cancer and non-cancer risk through exposure to surface waters and sediments were above the safety limit. A sensitivity analysis identified the concentration of PTEs and the exposure duration (ED) as the two most important variables for probabilistic health risk assessment. The highest risk for receptors was related to exposure to polluted sediments through incidental ingestion and dermal contact routes. According to the deterministic estimation, the human health risk through ingestion of water was above the threshold in specific locations. This study reveals the potential health risk to which the population is exposed. This information can be used as a baseline to develop public strategies to reduce anthropogenic pollution and exposure to PTEs in Ecuadorian Amazon rivers.

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Section: Point Risk Mapssupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Environmental Management and Public Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Potentially Toxic Elements in Polluted Rivers in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Jiménez-Oyola

Escobar-Segovia

García-Martínez

et al. 2021

Water

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“…Some studies have characterized the environmental concentrations of metals and metalloids (hereafter referred to as metals) in freshwater ecosystems of the Andean–Amazon region impacted by mining activities, indicating the exceedance of national and international quality standards [ 12 , 20 ]. However, the impacts of these metals on relevant biological endpoints for the Andean–Amazon region have not been evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

Capparelli

Cabrera

Rico

et al. 2021

Toxics

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As the number of legal and illegal gold mining sites increases in the Andes–Amazonia region, integrative methods to evaluate the effects of mining pollution on freshwater ecosystems are of paramount importance. Here, we sampled water and sediments in 11 sites potentially affected by gold mining activities in the Napo province (Ecuador). The environmental impacts were evaluated using the following lines of evidence (LOEs): water physicochemical parameters, metal exposure concentrations, macroinvertebrate community response (AAMBI), and toxicity by conducting bioassays with Lactuca sativa and Daphnia magna. Dissolved oxygen and total suspended solids were under (<80%) and above (>130 mg/Ls) quality standards 65% of the sites. Ag, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn in water and V, B, and Cr in sediments were detected above quality standards at sampled sites. Nine out of eleven sites were classified as having bad environmental quality based on the AAMBI. L. sativa seed germination in both water (37% to 70%) and sediment (0% to 65%) indicate significant toxicity. In five sites, neonates of D. magna showed a 25% reduction in survival compared to the control. Our integrated LOEs index ranked sites regarding their environmental degradation. We recommend environmental impact monitoring of the mining expansion at the Andes–Amazonia region using multiple LOEs.

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“…Some studies have characterized the environmental concentrations of metals and metalloids (hereafter referred to as metals) in freshwater ecosystems of the Andean-Amazon region impacted by mining activities, indicating the exceedance of national and international quality standards [16,24]. However, the impacts of these metals on relevant biological endpoints for the Andean-Amazon region have not been properly evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

Capparelli

Cabrera

Rico

et al. 2021

Preprint

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As the number of legal and illegal mining sites increase, integrative methods to evaluate the effects of mining pollution on Andes-Amazonia freshwater ecosystems are paramount. Here, we sampled water and sediments in 11 sites potentially affected by mining activities in the Napo province (Ecuador). The environmental impacts were evaluated using four lines of evidence (LOEs): water physico-chemical parameters; metal exposure concentrations; macroinvertebrate community response (AAMBI); and toxicity by conducting bioassays with Lactuca sativa and Daphnia magna. Overall, dissolved oxygen and total suspended solids were, under (&lt;80%) and above (&gt;130 mg/Ls) quality standards. Ag, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in water and V, B and Cr in sediments were detected above quality standards. Nine out of eleven sites were classified as having bad environmental quality based on the AAMBI. Ranges of L. sativa seed germination in both water (37% to 70%) and sediment (0% to 65%), indicate significant toxicity. In 5 sites, neonates of D. magna showed a 25% reduction in survival compared to the control. Our integrated LOEs index ranked sites regarding their environmental degradation. Given the importance of the Andes-Amazon region, we recommend environmental impact monitoring of the mining expansion using multiple LOEs.

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Heavy Metal Enrichment Factors in Fluvial Sediments of an Amazonian Basin Impacted by Gold Mining

Cited by 28 publications

References 19 publications

Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Potentially Toxic Elements in Polluted Rivers in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to Potentially Toxic Elements in Polluted Rivers in the Ecuadorian Amazon

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

An Integrative Approach to Assess the Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining Contamination in the Amazon

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