Research Group YASUNI-SDC, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Sede Orellana, 20001, El Coca, Ecuador.
Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Italy.
Environ Geochem Health. 2023 Oct;45(10):7183-7197. doi: 10.1007/s10653-023-01597-6. Epub 2023 May 9.
Illegal gold mining activities have contributed to the release and mobilization of Hg and environmental degradation in many parts of the world. This study aims to determine the concentration of Hg in five provinces of the Amazon Region of Ecuador, in addition to assessing the risk to human health of exposed populations, applying deterministic and probabilistic methods. For this purpose, 147 water samples were collected in rivers and streams crossing and/or located near mining areas. As a result, 100% of the samples analyzed exceeded the maximum permissible limit (MPL) according to the water quality criteria for the preservation of aquatic life of the Ecuadorian regulations, while 7% of the samples exceeded the MPL for drinking water. On the other hand, considering the European Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for surface water bodies, in our study, 100% of the samples exceed the maximum permissible limit (0.07 µg/L), and with respect to the Canadian water quality guidelines, 35% of the samples exceed the permissible limit (0.001 mg/l) for drinking water, and 100% of the samples exceed the limit for life in water bodies (0.0001 mg/l). The risk assessment revealed that the probability of developing adverse health effects from exposure to Hg is below the recommended limits according to the probabilistic assessment; this is in relation to the criterion of residential and recreational use of water resources. However, it was identified that the child population doubles the acceptable systemic risk level according to the results of the deterministic assessment in the residential scenario. This information can be used by decision-makers to implement strategies to reduce Hg contamination and exposure of the population in Ecuadorian Amazonian rivers.
非法金矿开采活动导致汞的释放和迁移，并在世界许多地区造成环境退化。本研究旨在确定厄瓜多尔亚马逊地区五个省份的汞浓度，此外还应用确定性和概率性方法评估暴露人群的健康风险。为此，在流经或位于矿区附近的河流和溪流中采集了 147 个水样。结果表明，分析的样本 100%超过厄瓜多尔法规规定的水生生物保护水质标准的最大允许限量（MPL），而 7%的样本超过饮用水的 MPL。另一方面，考虑到欧洲地表水质量标准（EQS），在我们的研究中，100%的样本超过最大允许限量（0.07μg/L），而根据加拿大水质指南，35%的样本超过饮用水允许限量（0.001mg/l），100%的样本超过水生生物限量（0.0001mg/l）。风险评估显示，根据概率评估，接触汞产生不良健康影响的可能性低于推荐限值；这与水资源的居住和娱乐用途标准有关。然而，根据居住情景下的确定性评估结果，儿童人口使可接受的系统风险水平增加了一倍。决策者可以利用这些信息来实施策略，以减少厄瓜多尔亚马逊河流域的汞污染和人口暴露。
