Mercury Exposure through Fish Consumption in Traditional Communities in the Brazilian Northern Amazon

Sandra de Souza Hacon, Marcelo Oliveira-da-Costa, Cecile de Souza Gama, Renata Ferreira, Paulo Cesar Basta, Ana Schramm and Decio Yokota
Additional contact information
Sandra de Souza Hacon: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Marcelo Oliveira-da-Costa: WWF-Brasil, Brasília 70377-540, Brazil
Cecile de Souza Gama: Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Amapá, Av. Feliciano Coelho, 1509. Trem, Amapá 68901-025, Brazil
Renata Ferreira: Iepé-Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena, Macapá, Amapá 68908-120, Brazil
Paulo Cesar Basta: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Ana Schramm: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Rio de Janeiro 21041-210, Brazil
Decio Yokota: Iepé-Instituto de Pesquisa e Formação Indígena, Macapá, Amapá 68908-120, Brazil

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the main source of anthropogenic mercury emissions and contamination in Latin America. In the Brazilian northern Amazon, ASGM has contaminated the environment and people over the past century. The main contamination route is through fish consumption, which endangers the food security and livelihoods of traditional communities. Our study aims to assess the potential toxicological health risks caused by the consumption of Hg-contaminated fish across five regions in Amapá State. We sampled 428 fish from 18 sites across inland and coastal aquatic systems. We measured the total mercury content in fish samples, and the results were applied to a mercury exposure risk assessment targeting three distinct groups (adults, women of childbearing age, and children). Mercury contamination was found to exceed the World Health Organization’s safe limit in 28.7% of all fish samples, with higher prevalence in inland zones. Moreover, the local preference for carnivorous fish species presents a serious health risk, particularly for communities near inland rivers in the region. This is the first study to provide clear recommendations for reducing the mercury exposure through fish consumption in Amapá State. It builds scientific evidence that helps decision-makers to implement effective policies for protecting the health of riverine communities.

Keywords: protected areas; traditional communities; mercury contamination; health risk assessment; Amazon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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