Impacts of the Goldmining and Chronic Methylmercury Exposure on the Good-Living and Mental Health of Munduruku Native Communities in the Amazon Basin

Abstract

This paper is an exploratory study that examines the illegal goldmining impacts on Munduruku communities’ “Good-Living” (Xipan Jewewekukap) and explores the possible relationship between chronic methylmercury (MeHg) exposure and the worsening mental health conditions in three villages in the Middle-Tapajós River, Brazilian Amazon. The region has been experiencing a long-lasting threat of goldminers’ invasions. A total of 109 people were interviewed and evaluated. Total mercury (THg) exposure levels were evaluated through hair samples analysis, from which MeHg exposure levels were calculated. The Geriatric Depression Scale—Short Form (GDS-SF) was used as a screening tool in order to assess mental health indicators. Brief non-structured interviews were carried out to investigate how goldmining is impacting the communities Good-Living. A Poisson regression model was used to estimate the possible association between mental health indicators (assessed through the GDS-SF) and the following independent variables: (i) mercury exposure level (<10.0 μg/g vs. ≥10.0 μg/g), (ii) self-reported nervousness, (iii) self-reported irritability, (iv) age group, and (v) monthly income. The analysis revealed high levels of mercury in hair samples (median: 7.4 µg/g, range 2.0–22.8; 70% and 28% of the participants had THg levels ≥6.0 and ≥10.0 µg/g, respectively) and pointed to a tendency in which higher levels of methylmercury exposure (Hg ≥ 10.0 µg/g) could be linked to worse mental health indicators. Although the GDS-SF has presented limitations due to the Munduruku sociocultural context, our findings suggest a tendency of worse mental health indicators in participants presenting high levels of MeHg exposure. Despite this limitation, the qualitative approach indicates an evident association between the impacts of goldmining and the Munduruku people’s decreasing autonomy to maintain a Good-Living on their own terms, pointing to the importance of carrying out new investigations, especially considering longitudinal studies with qualitative methodologies and ethnographic approaches.

The Contribution across Three Generations of Mercury Exposure to Attempted Suicide among Children and Youth in Grassy Narrows First Nation, Canada: An Intergenerational Analysis

“… 64 In a recent study of an Indigenous community in the Brazilian Amazon, hair Hg among persons 12–72 years of age [mean age 27.4 y ( )] was associated with depressive symptoms, as assessed with the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form; persons with hair Hg were 1.8 times more likely to manifest depressive symptoms. 65 In the GN-CHA, one mother in five reported a high level of psychological distress on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. This is consistent with Harada’s observations in 2010 where 20% of 73 Grassy Narrows examinees manifested signs and symptoms of emotional disturbances.…”

Trends in Mercury Contamination Distribution among Human and Animal Populations in the Amazon Region

“…This ongoing trend continues to challenge environmental governance [ 9 , 10 ]. Contemporary illegal mining activities in the Brazilian Amazon have experienced exponential growth, increasing by more than 90% since 2017, leading to major forest loss in 2020 [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], especially during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 16 ].…”

Trends in Mercury Contamination Distribution among Human and Animal Populations in the Amazon

“…This ongoing trend continues to challenge environmental governance [9,10]. Contemporary Illegal mining activities in the Brazilian Amazon have experienced exponential growth, increasing by more than 90% since 2017 leading to major forest loss in 2020 [10][11][12][13][14][15], especially during the COVID-19 pandemic [16].…”