Between 6 and 10 March, the team of the Project for the Protection of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of Brazil promoted the Course on Surveillance and Monitoring of Populations Exposed to Mercury: Practical Aspects, whose purpose is to train indigenous people and health professionals in the region of Itaituba (Pará) to work together with Fiocruz researchers. Within the context of the consortium, researcher Paulo Basta coordinates the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Pregnant Women and Newborns Exposed to Mercury in the Amazon, which follows women of these communities during their pregnancies and up until their children are two years old.
The introductory lesson was given by Paulo Basta (ENSP/Fiocruz), project coordinator, who introduced the research group and the goals of the training, and provided context to the intervention in the territory. The meeting also strengthened ties between researchers and the other people participating in the course.
Basta also talked about brain formation in children since birth, and how exposure to mercury may influence their development until they are two years old. This chemical element bonds with noble metals, such as gold, which is why it is used in illegal mining activities that take place in the Amazon territory.
However, it represents a direct risk to the health of the populations in the surrounding areas, because three kilos of mercury are used for each kilo of gold found by a miner. In this case, only one kilogram actually attaches to the gold, while the two remaining others are poured into the river, therefore affecting the water, fauna and flora of the region. Mercury accumulates in fish meat. When humans consume this meat, the substance reaches the bloodstream and is thus distributed all over the body, accumulating over the years.
In people, it affects mainly the brain, but also the heart and hormone-producing glands, and causes a series of sensory alterations. In the case of pregnant women, contamination passed down from mother to child is possible, therefore altering fetal development. Airborne contamination is also possible when the gold nuggets are cleaned through burning, spreading vapors as a consequence.
During the first day of the course, Ana Claudia Vasconcellos, researcher of the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health (EPSJV/Fiocruz), emphasized that in this context mercury is the third most dangerous environmental pollutant for human health.
Get to know the axis of the project
Once it is fully running, the study will follow pre-natal exams to check the health status of mother and baby as well as the pregnant woman’s habits. It will later evaluate birth conditions, such as type of labor and where it took place, and physical anamnesis, which will include collecting hair samples from the children.
Overall, ten Munduruku villages will be served, for a total of 250 pregnant women, until 2025. The researchers will be following the first thousand days of the children, all the way until they are two years old.
In addition to Fiotec, Fiocruz and WWF Brasil, the consortium also consists of the Kanindé Ethno-environmental Defense Association, the Pro-Indigenous Commission of Acre (CPI-Acre), the Chico Mendes Committee, the Waters Pact, the Health and Joy Project, the Institute for Forest Handling and Certification (Imaflora), and tens of other partner associations.
