Laboratório de Biogeoquímica Ambiental Wolfgang C. Pfeiffer, Fundação Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Porto Velho, Brazil; Departamento de Enfermagem, Fundação Universidade Federal de Rondônia, Brazil.
Santo Antônio Energia, Porto Velho (RO), Brazil.
J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2021 Sep;67:126773. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2021.126773. Epub 2021 May 9.
The Madeira River (Amazon Basin) has been impacted by activities related to artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), deforestation and burning (for timber, agriculture, and hydroelectric dam projects). All these activities contribute to environmental mercury (Hg) release and cycling into the Amazon ecosystem and thus to changing lifestyles.
We assessed exposure to total and MeHg in two small riverine communities of the Madeira River (Amazon): Lago Puruzinho (LP, n = 26 families) and São Sebastião do Tapurú (SST, n = 31 families). Samples of human hair (n = 137), blood (n = 39), and feces (n = 41) were collected from adults and children (0-15 years of age).
In women of childbearing age from LP village, the mean blood total-Hg (THg) (45.54 ± 24.76 μg.L) and MeHg (10.79 ± 4.36 μg.L) concentrations were significantly (p = 0.0024; p < 0.0001, respectively) higher than in women from SST village (THg: 25.32 ± 16.75 μg.L; MeHg: 2.32 ± 1.56 μg.L) village; the trend in hair-Hg persisted but was statistically significant (p < 0.0145) only for THg (LP, 11.34 ± 5.03 μg. g; SST, 7.97 ± 3.51 μg. g). In women, the median hair:blood ratio of total Hg was 269. In children, the mean hair THg concentrations were 6.07 ± 3.60 μg. g and 6.47 ± 4.16 μg. g in LP and SST; thus, not significantly different (p = 0.8006). There was a significant association (p < 0.001) between hair-Hg concentrations of mothers and their respective children. The excretion of Hg in feces of women (0.52 μg. g dw) was not significantly different from children (0.49 μg. g dw). The only statistically significant correlation between Hg in feces and in hair was found in children, (n = 16, r = 0.38, p = 0.005). Significant relationship was seen between the levels of THg in blood and hair of women from LP and SST. Based on hair-Hg concentrations, fish consumption rate ranged from 94.5 to 212.3 g.day.
Women and children excrete THg in feces in comparable concentrations. However, the mean fish consumption rate and blood MeHg are higher in the most remote villagers. Mother`s hair-Hg concentration is a good predictor of children's hair-Hg.
马德拉河（亚马逊盆地）受到与手工和小规模采金（ASGM）、森林砍伐和燃烧（用于木材、农业和水电大坝项目）相关的活动的影响。所有这些活动都导致环境汞（Hg）释放和循环进入亚马逊生态系统，从而改变生活方式。
我们评估了马德拉河（亚马逊）的两个小河社区（LP 和 SST）中总汞和 MeHg 的暴露情况：Lago Puruzinho（LP，n=26 个家庭）和 São Sebastião do Tapurú（SST，n=31 个家庭）。从成年人和儿童（0-15 岁）中采集了人类头发（n=137）、血液（n=39）和粪便（n=41）样本。
LP 村育龄妇女的平均血总汞（THg）（45.54±24.76μg.L）和 MeHg（10.79±4.36μg.L）浓度明显（p=0.0024;p<0.0001，分别）高于 SST 村妇女（THg：25.32±16.75μg.L；MeHg：2.32±1.56μg.L）村；头发-Hg 的趋势仍然存在，但统计学意义（p<0.0145）仅对 THg 有意义（LP，11.34±5.03μg.g；SST，7.97±3.51μg.g）。在妇女中，总汞的头发：血液比值中位数为 269。在儿童中，LP 和 SST 的头发 THg 浓度分别为 6.07±3.60μg.g 和 6.47±4.16μg.g；因此，没有显着差异（p=0.8006）。母亲的头发-Hg 浓度与其各自孩子的头发-Hg 浓度之间存在显著相关性（p<0.001）。妇女粪便中 Hg 的排泄量（0.52μg.g dw）与儿童粪便中 Hg 的排泄量（0.49μg.g dw）无显着差异。仅在儿童中发现粪便和头发中 Hg 之间存在统计学上显着的相关性（n=16，r=0.38，p=0.005）。在 LP 和 SST 的妇女中，THg 血液水平与头发水平之间存在显著关系。基于头发-Hg 浓度，鱼类的消耗率范围为 94.5 至 212.3g.day。
妇女和儿童以相当的浓度从粪便中排出 THg。然而，在最偏远的村民中，平均鱼类消费率和血液 MeHg 更高。母亲头发中的 Hg 浓度是孩子头发中 Hg 的良好预测指标。
