Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; ICREA, 08010 Barcelona, Spain.
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jan 1;610-611:1010-1019. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.208. Epub 2017 Aug 30.
Oil has been extracted from the Northern Peruvian Amazon for over four decades. However, few scientific studies have assessed the impacts of such activities in the environment and health of indigenous communities in the region. We have investigated the occurrence of petrogenic hydrocarbon pollution in soils and sediments from areas favoured as hunting or fishing grounds by local indigenous inhabitants. The study was conducted in one of the most productive oil blocks in Peru, located in the headwaters of the Amazon river. Soils and river sediments, in the vicinity of oil extraction and processing infrastructure, contained an oil pollution signature as attested by the occurrence of hopanes and steranes. Given the lack of any other significant source of oil pollution in the region, the sources of hydrocarbons are likely to be the activities of the oil industry in the oil block, from voluntary discharges or accidental spills. Spillage of produced water was commonplace until 2009. Moreover, petrogenic compounds were absent in control samples in sites far removed from any oil infrastructure in the oil block. Our findings suggest that wildlife and indigenous populations in this region of the Amazon are exposed to the ingestion of oil polluted soils and sediments. The data obtained supports previous claims that the local spillage of oil and produced waters in the water courses in the Corrientes and Pastaza basins could have eventually reached the main water course of the Amazon.
四十多年来，秘鲁北部亚马逊地区一直在开采石油。然而，很少有科学研究评估过这些活动对该地区土著社区的环境和健康的影响。我们调查了当地土著居民用作狩猎或捕鱼场的地区的土壤和沉积物中是否存在源自石油的碳氢化合物污染。该研究在秘鲁最具生产力的石油区块之一进行，该区块位于亚马逊河的源头。在石油开采和加工基础设施附近的土壤和河流沉积物中，存在甾烷和藿烷，表明存在石油污染特征。鉴于该地区没有任何其他重要的石油污染来源，碳氢化合物的来源很可能是石油区块中石油工业的活动，包括自愿排放或意外泄漏。直到 2009 年，生产用水的溢出还很常见。此外，在远离石油区块任何石油基础设施的控制样本中，不存在石油成因化合物。我们的研究结果表明，亚马逊地区的野生动物和土著居民可能会摄入受石油污染的土壤和沉积物。获得的数据支持了此前的说法，即科里恩特斯和帕斯塔萨流域的水道中当地石油和生产用水的溢出最终可能会到达亚马逊河的主要水道。
