Mercury Levels in Human Hair and Farmed Fish near Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities in the Madre de Dios River Basin, Peru

Langeland, Aubrey L.; Hardin, Rebecca; Neitzel, Richard L.

doi:10.20944/preprints201703.0076.v1

Cited by 17 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

(20 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There were studies on the neurotoxicity of mercury (Sheehan et al 2014;Bose-O'Reilly et al 2012), other forms of biomonitoring studies (Sanders et al 2014) and mercury level measurements in the environment (Gonzalez-Merizalde 2016). There were still those who focus their studies on the mercury levels on human hair (Langeland et al 2017) and urine and blood samples (Afrifa et al 2017).…”

Section: Gap Analysis On Health and Environmental Methodologies In Asmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of health and safety risk management into the implementation of gold processing technology in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) communities in the Philippines

Logrosa¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is a growing industry sector employing 20 to 30 million people worldwide. In the Philippines ASM activities are an important source of employment and a significant contributor to the country's economy. However, ASM activities are also the source of health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues that impact people at work, in the home, and in communities. HSE risks can be reduced depending if mercury-free technology is introduced, implemented and accepted in key Philippine ASM provinces.In this study, risk factors that affect the technology implementation process are identified using the risk perceptions of key stakeholders who can have a significant influence on the acceptance of technology through their roles. The risk perceptions were collected from the technology experts that shaped the technology design and construction, from the technology endusers -the AS miners who will determine the technology acceptance and assimilation, from government representatives and advocate groups who influence the sustainability of the technology in terms of its function to society as a whole.Key contributions of this study include the development of an appropriate methodology to produce evidence-based insights into prevalent and important stakeholder risk perceptions associated with the introduction of cleaner gold processing technology in ASM communities in the Philippines. Data was collected on-site from three ASM areas in the Philippines and from stakeholders comprising technology developers, national and local governments, advocate groups, local communities and AS miners using interviews and surveys. The three ASM areas studied were Benguet, Agusan del Norte and Compostela Valley. The range of risks identified come from the categories of political, HSE, economic, social, and technological. Different risk perceptions were elicited for a mercury-free gold processing technology with the relevance and relative importance of these risk perceptions across the different stakeholder groups validated using comparative analysis and descriptive statistics.There were two main outcomes from this study. Publications included in this thesisNo publications included. Contributions by others to the thesisProfessor David Cliff provided the oversight conception of the research project; contributed to refining and researching especially for the first research question; contributed to group review of empirical observations, survey questionnaire design and interview questionnaire design; contributed to critically revising the thesis; supported researcher through conferences and training.Associate Professor Maureen Hassall contributed to the design details of the research project; to refining and researching especially for the second research question; contributed to analysing and interpreting risk perceptions data; contributed to group review of empirical observations, survey questionnaire design and interview questionnaire design; contributed to peer-review process of risk assessment, thematic anal...

show abstract

Section: Gap Analysis On Health and Environmental Methodologies In Asmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of health and safety risk management into the implementation of gold processing technology in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) communities in the Philippines

Logrosa¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Peruvian Food and Medicinal Products

Tejada-Purizaca,

Garcia-Chevesich,

Ticona-Quea

et al. 2024

Foods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To better query regional sources of metal(loid) exposure in an under-communicated region, available scientific literature from 50 national universities (undergraduate and graduate theses and dissertations), peer-reviewed journals, and reports published in Spanish and English were synthesized with a focus on metal(loid) bioaccumulation in Peruvian food and medicinal products utilized locally. The study considered 16 metal(loid)s that are known to exert toxic impacts on humans (Hg, Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Cr, Sn, Ni, Ag, Pb, Se, Tl, Ti, and U). A total of 1907 individual analyses contained within 231 scientific publications largely conducted by Peruvian universities were analyzed. These analyses encompassed 239 reported species classified into five main food/medicinal groups—plants, fish, macroinvertebrates and mollusks, mammals, and “others” category. Our benchmark for comparison was the World Health Organization (Codex Alimentarius) standards. The organisms most frequently investigated included plants such as asparagus, corn, cacao, and rice; fish varieties like trout, tuna, and catfish; macroinvertebrates and mollusks including crab and shrimp; mammals such as alpaca, cow, chicken eggs, and milk; and other categories represented by propolis, honey, lichen, and edible frog. Bioaccumulation-related research increased from 2 to more than 25 publications per year between 2006 and 2022. The results indicate that Peruvian food and natural medicinal products can have dangerous levels of metal(loid)s, which can cause health problems for consumers. Many common and uncommon food/medicinal products and harmful metals identified in this analysis are not regulated on the WHO’s advisory lists, suggesting the urgent need for stronger regulations to ensure public safety. In general, Cd and Pb are the metals that violated WHO standards the most, although commonly non-WHO regulated metals such as Hg, Al, As, Cr, and Ni are also a concern. Metal concentrations found in Peru are on many occasions much higher than what has been reported elsewhere. We conclude that determining the safety of food/medicinal products is challenging due to varying metal concentrations that are influenced not only by metal type but also geographical location. Given the scarcity of research findings in many regions of Peru, urgent attention is required to address this critical knowledge gap and implement effective regulatory measures to protect public health.

show abstract

Spatial, Temporal, and Dietary Variables Associated with Elevated Mercury Exposure in Peruvian Riverine Communities Upstream and Downstream of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Wyatt

Ortiz

Feingold

et al. 2017

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is a primary contributor to global mercury and its rapid expansion raises concern for human exposure. Non-occupational exposure risks are presumed to be strongly tied to environmental contamination; however, the relationship between environmental and human mercury exposure, how exposure has changed over time, and risk factors beyond fish consumption are not well understood in ASGM settings. In Peruvian riverine communities (n = 12), where ASGM has increased 4–6 fold over the past decade, we provide a large-scale assessment of the connection between environmental and human mercury exposure by comparing total mercury contents in human hair (2-cm segment, n = 231) to locally caught fish tissue, analyzing temporal exposure in women of child bearing age (WCBA, 15–49 years, n = 46) over one year, and evaluating general mercury exposure risks including fish and non-fish dietary items through household surveys and linear mixed models. Calculations of an individual’s oral reference dose using the total mercury content in locally-sourced fish underestimated the observed mercury exposure for individuals in many communities. This discrepancy was particularly evident in communities upstream of ASGM, where mercury levels in river fish, water, and sediment measurements from a previous study were low, yet hair mercury was chronically elevated. Hair from 86% of individuals and 77% of children exceeded a USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) provisional level (1.2 µg/g) that could result in child developmental impairment. Chronically elevated mercury exposure was observed in the temporal analysis in WCBA. If the most recent exposure exceeded the USEPA level, there was a 97% probability that the individual exceeded that level 8–10 months of the previous year. Frequent household consumption of some fruits (tomato, banana) and grains (quinoa) was significantly associated with 29–75% reductions in hair mercury. Collectively, these data demonstrate that communities located hundreds of kilometers from ASGM are vulnerable to chronically elevated mercury exposure. Furthermore, unexpected associations with fish mercury contents and non-fish dietary intake highlight the need for more in-depth analyses of exposure regimes to identify the most vulnerable populations and to establish potential interventions.

show abstract

Mercury Levels in Human Hair and Farmed Fish near Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Communities in the Madre de Dios River Basin, Peru

Cited by 17 publications

References 12 publications

Integration of health and safety risk management into the implementation of gold processing technology in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) communities in the Philippines

Integration of health and safety risk management into the implementation of gold processing technology in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) communities in the Philippines

Heavy Metal Bioaccumulation in Peruvian Food and Medicinal Products

Spatial, Temporal, and Dietary Variables Associated with Elevated Mercury Exposure in Peruvian Riverine Communities Upstream and Downstream of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About