Mercury Contamination of Fish and Exposures of an Indigenous Community in Pará State, Brazil

Brabo, Edílson da Silva; Santos, Elisabeth de O.; Jesus, Iracina Maura de; Mascarenhas, Artur Fernando Silva; Faial, Kleber Raimundo Freitas

doi:10.1006/enrs.2000.4114

Cited by 49 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…A large share of the documented evidence of the impacts of pollution upon IPs comes from North America (47%; 156 cases) and South America (27%; 99 cases), with strong research foci on the Arctic (Paunescu et al 2013; Binnington et al 2016; Krümmel and Gilman 2016) and the Amazon (da Silva Brabo et al 2000; Rosell‐Melé et al 2018) (Figure 1). Research on pollution and IPs in Africa is relatively meager (11%; 41 cases), with most of it coming from the Niger Delta region; there is limited information for the rest of the continent.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

Fernández‐Llamazares

Garteizgogeascoa

Basu

et al. 2020

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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Indigenous peoples (IPs) worldwide are confronted by the increasing threat of pollution. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature (n = 686 studies), we present the current state of knowledge on: 1) the exposure and vulnerability of IPs to pollution; 2) the environmental, health, and cultural impacts of pollution upon IPs; and 3) IPs' contributions to prevent, control, limit, and abate pollution from local to global scales. Indigenous peoples experience large burdens of environmental pollution linked to the expansion of commodity frontiers and industrial development, including agricultural, mining, and extractive industries, as well as urban growth, waste dumping, and infrastructure and energy development. Nevertheless, IPs are contributing to limit pollution in different ways, including through environmental monitoring and global policy advocacy, as well as through local resistance toward polluting activities. This work adds to growing evidence of the breadth and depth of environmental injustices faced by IPs worldwide, and we conclude by highlighting the need to increase IPs' engagement in environmental decision-making regarding pollution control. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:324-341.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

Fernández‐Llamazares

Garteizgogeascoa

Basu

et al. 2020

Integr Envir Assess & Manag

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“…There is a long and ongoing history of gold mining activities in the Tapajos River basin and its impacts are well documented [5,13,14,41,43,63,64,66,67,[108][109][110]. It is widely known that artisanal gold mining activities are responsible for emitting 200 metric tons of mercury annually; approximately 27% of global emissions are discarded annually without any control [111,112], constituting a potential risk to human health and the environment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering the Tapajós River basin, an area inhabited by the Munduruku people and other indigenous groups in the Brazilian Amazon, some studies have analyzed mercury levels in environmental samples [5,13,35,41,[63][64][65]. Almost all of the revised studies detected mercury in relevant concentrations in different environmental samples such as water, sediment, plankton, and macrophytes fish [5,13,35,41,[63][64][65]. Nevertheless, only three studies are available on the scientific indexed bases regarding mercury exposure in the Munduruku indigenous territory [66][67][68].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Communities from Brazilian Amazon: Methodological Background and an Overview of the Principal Results

Basta

Viana

Vasconcellos

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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The Amazonian indigenous peoples depend on natural resources to live, but human activities’ growing impacts threaten their health and livelihoods. Our objectives were to present the principal results of an integrated and multidisciplinary analysis of the health parameters and assess the mercury (Hg) exposure levels in indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon. We carried out a cross-sectional study based on a census of three Munduruku indigenous villages (Sawré Muybu, Poxo Muybu, and Sawré Aboy), located in the Sawré Muybu Indigenous Land, between 29 October and 9 November 2019. The investigation included: (i) sociodemographic characterization of the participants; (ii) health assessment; (iii) genetic polymorphism analysis; (iv) hair mercury determination; and (v) fish mercury determination. We used the logistic regression model with conditional Prevalence Ratio (PR), with the respective 95% confidence intervals (CI95%) to explore factors associated with mercury exposure levels ≥6.0 µg/g. A total of 200 participants were interviewed. Mercury levels (197 hair samples) ranged from 1.4 to 23.9 μg/g, with significant differences between the villages (Kruskal–Wallis test: 19.9; p-value < 0.001). On average, the general prevalence of Hg exposure ≥ 6.0 µg/g was 57.9%. For participants ≥12 years old, the Hg exposure ≥6.0 µg/g showed associated with no regular income (PR: 1.3; CI95%: 1.0–1.8), high blood pressure (PR: 1.6; CI95%: 1.3–2.1) and was more prominent in Sawré Aboy village (PR: 1.8; CI95%: 1.3–2.3). For women of childbearing age, the Hg exposure ≥6.0 µg/g was associated with high blood pressure (PR: 1.9; CI95%: 1.2–2.3), with pregnancy (PR: 1.5; CI95%: 1.0–2.1) and was more prominent among residents in Poxo Muybu (PR: 1.9; CI95%: 1.0–3.4) and Sawré Aboy (PR: 2.5; CI95%: 1.4–4.4) villages. Our findings suggest that chronic mercury exposure causes harmful effects to the studied indigenous communities, especially considering vulnerable groups of the population, such as women of childbearing age. Lastly, we propose to stop the illegal mining in these areas and develop a risk management plan that aims to ensure the health, livelihoods, and human rights of the indigenous people from Amazon Basin.

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“…In addition to the indigenous tribes, there is a fishing colony (named Z-16) with approximately 250 professional fishermen working in the Teles Pires river basin. In the Tapajós basin, researchers found trace element contamination in indigenous and riverine populations; where Barbosa et al (1997) showed that 3% of the riverine population presented levels of mercury above 50 mg.kg -1 , Hacon et al (1997) estimated a Risk Index of 9.3 for families of fishermen, and Brabo et al (2000) concluded that while Hg levels in fish consumed by the Sai Cinza tribe were below the Brazilian limit for consumption, their high consumption rates of large quantities of fish make them highly susceptible to contamination. Considering that the diets of the local indigenous and riverine populations predominately consist of fish (the populations' main protein source), results in high susceptibility to the contaminants 7 e160106 [7] contained in consumed fish.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of mercury contamination in Brycon falcatus (Characiformes: Bryconidae) and human health risk by consumption of this fish from the Teles Pires River, Southern Amazonia

et al. 2018

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Brycon falcatus is one of the most highly consumed species of fish within the region in the Teles Pires basin, and has great commercial importance in sport and professional artisanal fishing. The objective of this study was to analyze the presence and concentration of total mercury (THg) in the muscle, liver and gills of B. falcatus, and calculate the risk to human health of THg contamination from ingestion of the fish. THg concentrations were similar in the liver (0.076 mg kg-1) and muscle (0.052 mg kg-1), and higher than in the gills (0.009 mg kg-1). The levels of HgT present in B. falcatus tissues did not influence weight gain and nutritional status. Based on the condition factor, weight and length ratio and hepatosomatic index, it seems that the concentrations of THg did not influence the health and well-being of B. falcatus collected in the Teles Pires River basin. THg concentrations in the muscle of B. falcatus are below the limit recommended by the World Health Organization for people who consume until 250 g of fish per week. The risk of deleterious effects on human health may exist if there is a greater consumption of B. falcatus such as 340 g/day, that is the mean of fish consumption by indigenous and riverine.

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Mercury Contamination of Fish and Exposures of an Indigenous Community in Pará State, Brazil

Cited by 49 publications

References 20 publications

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

Mercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Communities from Brazilian Amazon: Methodological Background and an Overview of the Principal Results

Assessment of mercury contamination in Brycon falcatus (Characiformes: Bryconidae) and human health risk by consumption of this fish from the Teles Pires River, Southern Amazonia

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