Environmental exposure to mercury in the urban area of Alta Floresta
Mercury has been released into the Amazonia ecosystem as a result of gold mining activities over the past 15 years. Metallic mercury is used to amalgamate gold particulate. During the amalgamation process, a significant amount of metallic Hg finds its way into the aquatic and terrestrial systems. About 65 to 83% of the total mercury emission by gold mining activities enters directly into the atmosphere. The inorganic Hg is then methylated by microbiota and the organic Hg is bioaccumulated within the aquatic food chain, from which humans are a top predator. Alta Floresta is the most important gold trading center in Amazonia. The urban population is exposed to a high concentration of Hg in the atmosphere, ranging from 23 to 5,788 ng/m{sup 3}. Also the mercury levels in fishes eaten locally are high, mainly in fish from Teles Pires river. Nine from the eleven species most consumed by the urban population are carnivorous, and constitute about 98% of all fish eaten locally. The highest Hg levels are found in Brachyplastistoma sp. (Piraiba), ranging from 1.7 to 3.0 {mu}g/g (w.w.) and Paulicea Luetkin (Jau), ranging from 0.4 to 2.7 {mu}g/g (w. w.) assuming an average fish consumption rate of 31 grams per day, an weighted average of Hg fish concentration of 1.2 {mu}g/g, an average body weight for adults of 60 kg and an average exposure duration of 8 years, the estimated incorporation 0.63 pg of Hg per kg of body weight would imply that attention should be given to the critical groups such as children and woman in the child-bearing age, since fetus are more sensitive to mercury than adults.
- OSTI ID:
- 37442
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9519%%366
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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