Faculty of Veterinary, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Niterói 24230-321, Brazil.
Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro 21941-580, Brazil.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Aug 1;20(15):6489. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20156489.
Researchers recognize the silent, negative and deleterious effects caused by mercury pollution in gold mining areas. Freshwater turtles are culturally part of the diet of riverside populations in the Amazon region and this area presents mercury (Hg) pollution issues mainly due to gold mining activities. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the total mercury (THg) content in the different organs of Amazonian giant river turtle () and carry out a human health risk assessment associated with the consumption of these animals. This study was conducted in the Vila Balbina, municipality of Presidente Figueiredo, state of Amazonas, Brazil. Skin ( = 28), muscle ( = 19) and brain ( = 2) samples were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (TDA-AAS) and a DMA-80™ mercury analyzer was used for the total mercury determinations. The average values found for THg in the skin, muscle and brain samples were, respectively, 0.1045 mg·kg, 0.1092 mg·kg and 0.0601 mg·kg. Thus, THg was observed even though the were kept in captivity, possibly due to previous contamination by air, water and food. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) was calculated considering a 9.07 g·day intake dose of and the consumption of turtles once a week showed an HQ = 2.45, which may cause long-term injuries to human health. Although the muscle concentrations were below the maximum limit established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Brazilian regulatory agencies, it is important to evaluate consumption factors such as amount ingested, frequency and animal gender, which may cause a potential risk to regular consumers due to mercury bioaccumulation. The WHO may consider various aspects in order to warn the Amazon population about the severity and silent hazard of this metal, especially due to the importance of this matrix in the region. This region urgently needs government actions to inhibit clandestine mining and to prevent future serious, chronic health problems of the entire population.
研究人员认识到汞污染在金矿地区造成的无声、负面和有害影响。在亚马逊地区，淡水龟在文化上是河边居民饮食的一部分，而该地区主要由于金矿开采活动而存在汞（Hg）污染问题。因此，本研究旨在评估亚马孙巨龟（）不同器官中的总汞（THg）含量，并进行与食用这些动物相关的人类健康风险评估。本研究在巴西亚马逊州总统菲格雷多市的维拉巴尔比纳进行。通过原子吸收光谱法（TDA-AAS）对皮肤（=28）、肌肉（=19）和大脑（=2）样本进行分析，并使用 DMA-80™ 汞分析仪进行总汞测定。皮肤、肌肉和大脑样本中 THg 的平均含量分别为 0.1045 mg·kg、0.1092 mg·kg 和 0.0601 mg·kg。因此，尽管这些龟被圈养，仍观察到 THg 的存在，这可能是由于先前受到空气、水和食物的污染。根据 9.07 g·day 的摄入量和每周食用一次龟肉的情况，计算出危害系数（HQ）为 2.45，这可能会对人类健康造成长期损害。尽管肌肉中的浓度低于世界卫生组织（WHO）和巴西监管机构规定的最大值，但评估摄入因素（如摄入量、频率和动物性别）很重要，这可能会对经常食用的人造成潜在风险，因为汞会发生生物积累。世界卫生组织可能会考虑各个方面，以便就这种金属的严重性和无声危害向亚马逊地区的人们发出警告，特别是由于该地区该矩阵的重要性。该地区迫切需要政府采取行动，禁止秘密开采，并防止未来整个地区出现严重的、慢性的健康问题。
