Assessment of Hg pollution in stream waters and human health risk in areas impacted by mining activities in the Ecuadorian Amazon

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental geochemistry and health Vol. 45; no. 10; pp. 7183 - 7197
Main Authors: Mestanza-Ramón, Carlos, Jiménez-Oyola, Samantha, Montoya, Alex Vinicio Gavilanes, Vizuete, Danny Daniel Castillo, D’Orio, Giovanni, Cedeño-Laje, Juan, Straface, Salvatore
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.10.2023
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Amazonia
Aquatic organisms
children
Contamination
decision making
Drinking water
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecuador
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental degradation
Environmental Health
Environmental quality
Exposure
Geochemistry
gold
Health risks
human health
Mercury
Original Paper
pollution
Probabilistic methods
probability analysis
Probability theory
Public Health
Quality standards
Recreational use
risk
Risk assessment
Risk levels
Rivers
Soil Science & Conservation
Statistical analysis
Stream pollution
Streams
Surface water
Terrestrial Pollution
Water analysis
Water bodies
Water quality
Water resources
Water sampling
Water use
Ecuador
Amazonia
Human health
Agriculture
Ecological
Biodiversity
Recreation
Feeding
ISSN:0269-4042, 1573-2983, 1573-2983
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary: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.
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ISSN:0269-4042
1573-2983
1573-2983
DOI:10.1007/s10653-023-01597-6