Mercury in wild animals and fish and health risk for indigenous Amazonians

Oliveira, Débora Francielly de; Castro, Bruno Soares de; Recktenvald, Maria Cristina Nery do Nascimento; Júnior, Walkimar Aleixo da Costa; Silva, Fábio Ximenes da; Alves, Cristiano Lucas de Menezes; Froehlich, Josiel Dimas; Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues; Ott, Ari Miguel Teixeira

doi:10.1080/19393210.2020.1849410

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The results obtained in Acre are intriguing and should be interpreted with caution. Although there are few reports and records of gold-mining activity in the region, other studies [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ] have indicated the presence of high levels of mercury in fish samples and other food products. This suggests that the availability of mercury in the region may be influenced by other anthropogenic sources of mercury emissions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Assessment of Mercury-Contaminated Fish Consumption in the Brazilian Amazon: An Ecological Study

Basta,

de Vasconcellos,

Hallwass

et al. 2023

Toxics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury is one of the most dangerous contaminants on the planet. In recent years, evidence of mercury contamination in the Amazon has significantly increased, notably due to gold-mining activities. Although mercury contamination in fish has consistently been documented, little is known about the risk associated with fish consumption by populations in urban areas of the Amazon. We sampled 1010 fish sold in public markets in six state capitals and 11 additional cities. Mercury levels were determined for each specimen, and the evaluation of the health risks associated with consuming mercury-contaminated fish was conducted according to the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Our study reveals that more than one-fifth (21.3%) of the fish sold in urban centers had mercury levels above the safe limits (≥0.5 µg/g) established by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The prevalence of Hg contamination ≥0.5 µg/g was approximately 14 times higher in carnivorous than in noncarnivorous fish. The analysis of the risk attributable to fish consumption reveals that daily mercury intake exceeded the reference dose recommended by the U.S. EPA in all population groups analyzed, reaching up to 7 and 31 times in women of childbearing age and children from 2 to 4 years old, respectively. However, these risks are diverse depending on the type of fish consumed and must be considered to formulate appropriate nutritional guidelines for safe fish consumption by the local community.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Assessment of Mercury-Contaminated Fish Consumption in the Brazilian Amazon: An Ecological Study

Basta,

de Vasconcellos,

Hallwass

et al. 2023

Toxics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…According to the WHO, a major cause of mercury exposure is due to dental amalgams and ingestion of contaminated seafood [ 51 ]. It is reported that carnivorous fish and animals have a higher chance of mercury toxicity than those of fishes and animals with herbivorous food habits [ 52 ]. Similar to what occurs in humans, higher animals (like mammals) can become poisoned by HM.…”

Section: Mercurymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mercury affects the activities of many neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine [ 51 ]. It is shown to affect the immune system by inducing cytokine expression as well as IL-1 release [ 52 ] and also reducing the uptake of vitamin B12 and plasma ascorbic acid [ 52 , 62 ]. Mercury is shown to induce immunosuppression, type-4 hypersensitivity, and autoimmunity by affecting cytokine production [ 63 ].…”

Section: Mercurymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mutagenic, Carcinogenic, and Teratogenic Effect of Heavy Metals

Dasharathy

Arjunan

Basavaraju

et al. 2022

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Heavy metal (HM)-induced toxicity and its associated complications have become a major issue in the medical world. HMs are not biodegradable, enter into the food chain, and gets accumulated in the living systems. Increased concentrations and accumulation of HMs can cause severely damaging effects and severe complications in living organisms and can even lead to the death of the organism. In Ayurvedic medicine, ingredients of natural origin, including whole plants or certain portions of the plant, animal sources, and minerals, are used for therapeutic purposes as medicine, both alone and in combination. HM such as cadmium, copper, zinc, lead, chromium, nickel, and arsenic cause hazardous effects on animals, human health, and the environment. This review focuses on mutagenic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic effects of HM , mechanism, organ toxicity, available remedies in the market, and their side effects. Also, emphasis is given to alternative systems of medicine to treat HM toxicity.

show abstract

“…Therefore, the contaminated aquatic food chain poses a significant threat to vulnerable Amazonian populations dependent on fishing for subsistence and nutrition from fish as their primary source of animal protein, as it is also their main gateway to Hg exposure [ 12 , 15 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. CH3Hg + comprises approximately 80% of the total mercury found in human hair, and its presence in the biological matrix indicates chronic mercury exposure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Mercury Contamination Distribution among Human and Animal Populations in the Amazon Region

Martoredjo,

Calvão Santos,

Vilhena

et al. 2024

Toxics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury contamination in the Amazon arising from both natural sources and intensive mining activities in the region is a significant public health concern. This metal is used to separate Au from sediments. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess the impact of mining on mercury contamination in the animal and human populations of the Amazon. This overall objective was pursued through a systematic review of the existing literature to assess the impact of Hg and identify gaps in geographic coverage arising from this assessment. Herein, we employed PECO and PRISMA-ScR protocols to select articles published between 2017 and 2023 based on projected points on a map within the biogeographic boundaries of the Amazon. We found that mercury concentrations increase with trophic levels, reaching high values of 3.7 µg/g in the muscles of predatory fish and 34.9 µg/g in human hair. The mean level of mercury in human hair in the whole (Amazon) region exceeds 6 µg/g, surpassing tolerance levels. Although mining regions show high concentrations of Hg, the highest incidence was observed among populations with fish-based diets. It was concluded that continuous research and monitoring of fish in the region are required in order to accurately assess the risk associated with Hg contamination, especially since fish are the main source of protein in this region.

show abstract

Mercury in wild animals and fish and health risk for indigenous Amazonians

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

Risk Assessment of Mercury-Contaminated Fish Consumption in the Brazilian Amazon: An Ecological Study

Risk Assessment of Mercury-Contaminated Fish Consumption in the Brazilian Amazon: An Ecological Study

Mutagenic, Carcinogenic, and Teratogenic Effect of Heavy Metals

Trends in Mercury Contamination Distribution among Human and Animal Populations in the Amazon Region

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About