Mercury exposure, risk factors, and perceptions among women of childbearing age in an artisanal gold mining region of the Peruvian Amazon

González, D. J.; Arain, Aubrey; Fernandez, Luis E.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2019.108786

Cited by 36 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While ASGM is an important livelihood for local communities, it results in widespread deforestation 2 , 3 , extensive conversion of forests to ponds 4 , high sediment loading in nearby rivers 5 , 6 , and is the largest global source of atmospheric mercury (Hg) emissions and freshwater Hg releases 7 . Many intensive ASGM sites are within global biodiversity hotspots and lead to decreased diversity 8 , loss of sensitive species 9 , and high exposure of Hg in both people 10 – 12 and top predators 13 , 14 . An estimated 675–1000 tons Hg yr −1 are volatilized and emitted to the atmosphere globally from ASGM operations 7 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining throughout the Global South exceed coal combustion as the largest global source of mercury. We examined mercury deposition and storage in an area of the Peruvian Amazon heavily impacted by artisanal gold mining. Intact forests in the Peruvian Amazon near gold mining receive extremely high inputs of mercury and experience elevated total mercury and methylmercury in the atmosphere, canopy foliage, and soils. Here we show for the first time that an intact forest canopy near artisanal gold mining intercepts large amounts of particulate and gaseous mercury, at a rate proportional with total leaf area. We document substantial mercury accumulation in soils, biomass, and resident songbirds in some of the Amazon’s most protected and biodiverse areas, raising important questions about how mercury pollution may constrain modern and future conservation efforts in these tropical ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Second, the region is considered one of the world's most biodiverse, containing a number of important ecological parks and preserves, including Manu National Park and the Tambopata Reserve. Third, ASGM activities are now known to have contributed to mercury contamination events and high levels of methylmercury in waterways, fish tissue, and resident's blood and hair (Ashe, 2012; Diringer et al, 2015; Gonzalez et al, 2019; Hurtado et al, 2006; Weinhouse et al, 2017; Wyatt et al, 2017; Yard et al, 2012), even among individual living hundreds of miles from active mining (Wyatt et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated Hair Mercury Levels Are Associated With Neurodevelopmental Deficits in Children Living Near Artisanal and Small‐Scale Gold Mining in Peru

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children living near artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are at risk of exposure to mercury, a neurotoxicant. It is not certain whether such exposures are harming development, as they occur in underresourced contexts entwined with other stressors, such as malnutrition and enteric infection.This study sought to investigate the association between hair-mercury levels and visual-motor, cognitive, and physical development among children living near ASGM in the Peruvian Amazon. Total hair-mercury levels were measured in 164 children ages 5-

show abstract

“…To this end, we quantified the relationship between MeHg and THg contents in hair for individuals in Madre de Dios, Peru (Figure 1), a region that is an epicenter of ASGM activities in the Amazon basin over the last two decades and has experienced mercury releases to the river environment [45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. Mercury exposures to levels that exceed health guidelines have been widely documented for residents of the region [5,12,[52][53][54][55][56]. We quantified THg and MeHg contents in hair obtained from N = 287 individuals (of N = 2167 sampled) from 20 communities located within and near the mining region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of Hair Total Mercury Content as a Biomarker of Methylmercury Exposure to Communities in the Area of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Madre de Dios, Peru

Koenigsmark

Weinhouse

Berky

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Total mercury content (THg) in hair is an accepted biomarker for chronic dietary methylmercury (MeHg) exposure. In artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) communities, the validity of this biomarker is questioned because of the potential for contamination from inorganic mercury. As mining communities may have both inorganic and organic mercury exposures, the efficacy of the hair-THg biomarker needs to be evaluated, particularly as nations begin population exposure assessments under their commitments to the Minamata Convention. We sought to validate the efficacy of hair THg for public health monitoring of MeHg exposures for populations living in ASGM communities. We quantified both THg and MeHg contents in hair from a representative subset of participants (N = 287) in a large, population-level mercury exposure assessment in the ASGM region in Madre de Dios (MDD), Peru. We compared population MeHg-THg correlations and %MeHg values with demographic variables including community location, sex, occupation, and nativity. We observed that hair MeHg-THg correlations were high (r > 0.7) for all communities, regardless of location or nativity. Specifically, for individuals within ASGM communities, 81% (121 of 150 total) had hair THg predominantly in the form of MeHg (i.e., >66% of THg) and reflective of dietary exposure to mercury. Furthermore, for individuals with hair THg exceeding the U.S. EPA threshold (1.0 μg/g), 88 out of 106 (83%) had MeHg as the predominant form. As a result, had urine THg solely been used for mercury exposure monitoring, approximately 59% of the ASGM population would have been misclassified as having low mercury exposure. Our results support the use of hair THg for monitoring of MeHg exposure of populations in ASGM settings where alternative biomarkers of MeHg exposure are not feasible.

show abstract

Mercury exposure, risk factors, and perceptions among women of childbearing age in an artisanal gold mining region of the Peruvian Amazon

Cited by 36 publications

References 30 publications

Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining

Amazon forests capture high levels of atmospheric mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining

Elevated Hair Mercury Levels Are Associated With Neurodevelopmental Deficits in Children Living Near Artisanal and Small‐Scale Gold Mining in Peru

Efficacy of Hair Total Mercury Content as a Biomarker of Methylmercury Exposure to Communities in the Area of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Madre de Dios, Peru

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About