Monitoring Mercury Exposure in Reproductive Aged Women Inhabiting the Tapajós River Basin, Amazon

Abstract

Among Amazonian communities, exposure to methylmercury is associated mainly with fish consumption that may affect fetal development in pregnant women. Therefore a temporal assessment was performed to assess the exposure of reproductive aged women to mercury who reside in the riparian communities of São Luís do Tapajós and Barreiras located in the Tapajós basin of the Brazilian Amazon from 1999 to 2012. The total mercury concentration in the 519 hair samples was assessed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Data analysis showed that the average total mercury concentration decreased from 1.066 to 0.743 μg/g in those years. In 1999 the proportion of volunteers with mercury levels ≥ 10 μg/g was approximately 68 %. In general, exposure to mercury decreased among women of reproductive age, but the potential risks to reproduction and human health is still an issue as 22 % of the woman continued showing high mercury levels (≥ 10 μg/g) in 2012.

Mercury exposure and its effects on fertility and pregnancy outcome

“…While the different government regulatory panels for the maximal Hg threshold in the environment and groundwaters established the range 0.050‐2 μg/L, that is, 0.00025‐0.01 μmoles/L, pollution might reach much higher values upwards in the food chain; for example, in yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ), MeHg load ranged from 0.03 to 0.82 μg/g wet weight across any individual fish, that is, 0.36‐9.84 mg Hg (0.6‐16.4 μmoles/L) for the whole animal . Eating a simple can of Hg‐polluted tuna, therefore, may represent intakes from 0.01 to 0.287 μmoles Hg, which accumulates in the body …”

“…26 Eating a simple can of Hg-polluted tuna, therefore, may represent intakes from 0.01 to 0.287 μmoles Hg, which accumulates in the body. [27][28][29][30][31] The role of Hg as a toxicant in sexual reproduction and pregnancy is quite neglected compared with the great attention spent on reports regarding neurotoxicology from this heavy metal. Despite some contradictory evidence, the role of Hg in human reproduction is going to be a major alarming issue.…”

Mercury Materno-fetal Burden and Its Nutritional Impact

“…On the other hand, inorganic mercury exists in the dental fillings and is also airborne where it is transferred via the different occupations. It is usually caught in the placental barrier [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ].…”

Sexual and reproductive health in riverine communities: integrative review

“…The scientific evidence of the environmental component were extracted from three studies, which address exposure to environmental contaminants and its implications on reproduction (19,(25)(26) .…”

“…Studies on the concentrations of mercury were carried out in Brazil, in the states of Rondônia (26) and Pará (19) . The analyzes carried out with the riverine inhabitants of Rondônia show that the total mercury concentration was above the safety levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), that is, above 10 µg/g in 51% of the participants investigated.…”