Environmental Chemistry Department, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDÆA-CSIC, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain; University of Córdoba, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Water, Applied and Environmental Chemistry Group, Monteria, Colombia.
University of Córdoba, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Water, Applied and Environmental Chemistry Group, Monteria, Colombia.
Environ Res. 2022 Dec;215(Pt 3):113950. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113950. Epub 2022 Aug 8.
The risk to human health from exposure to certain pollutants through the consumption of fruits, tubers, and fish were evaluated in a settlement located in a Colombian area highly impacted by gold mining activities. The concentrations of mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) in edible food tissues and methylmercury (MeHg) in fish were determined for risk assessment. A questionnaire-based dietary survey was answered by 178 residents of three population groups: children (CHD), women of childbearing age (WCBA), and the rest of the population (RP). The estimated weekly intake (EWI) of MeHg presented values of 1.9 and 2.4 times higher than the provisional tolerable weekly intake (1.6 μg/kg BW/week) recommended by the FAO/WHO for CH and WCBA, respectively. The results of the HQ values of As and Hg for different food were above the safety level (HQ < 1) for most of the groups. For Hg, the highest HQ values correspond to fish, whereas for As in most of the food, but specially in fruits. The total target hazard quotients (HI) were higher than 1, in all the groups (except for CHD that consume tubers) indicating potential non-carcinogenic health risks. The values of carcinogenic risk (CR) for As through exposure to food ranged from 1.2·10 to 7.7·10, well above than the safety level of US EPA risk (10-10), suggesting the probability of carcinogenic risk for the entire population via ingestion. Therefore, safety control mechanisms and environmental education strategies should be applied to address food intake, associated with good agricultural practices to provide solutions to protect the health of the residents in areas affected by gold mining activities.
在一个位于哥伦比亚金矿开采活动高度影响地区的定居点，评估了人类通过食用水果、块茎和鱼类接触某些污染物对健康造成的风险。评估风险时，测定了食用组织中的汞 (Hg) 和砷 (As) 浓度以及鱼类中的甲基汞 (MeHg)。通过问卷调查，对三组人群（儿童 (CHD)、育龄妇女 (WCBA) 和其余人群 (RP)）的 178 名居民进行了饮食调查。MeHg 的估计每周摄入量 (EWI) 分别比粮农组织/世卫组织推荐的 CH 和 WCBA 的暂定可耐受每周摄入量 (1.6μg/kg BW/week) 高 1.9 倍和 2.4 倍。不同食物中 As 和 Hg 的 HQ 值结果对于大多数人群均高于安全水平 (HQ<1)。对于 Hg，HQ 值最高的是鱼类，而对于大多数食物中的 As，特别是水果。所有人群的总目标危害系数 (HI) 均高于 1（除了食用块茎的 CHD 组），表明存在潜在的非致癌健康风险。通过食用食物接触到的 As 的致癌风险 (CR) 范围从 1.2·10 到 7.7·10，远高于美国环保署风险的安全水平 (10-10)，表明通过摄入，整个人群存在致癌风险的可能性。因此，应采取安全控制机制和环境教育策略，以控制与良好农业实践相关的食物摄入，为受金矿开采活动影响的地区的居民健康提供解决方案。
