Research with Yanomami indigenous people, from the subgroup Ninam, from nine different villages located in Roraima, showed that all participants are contaminated by mercury. The higher exposure levels were detected in individuals living in villages closer to the illegal gold mining areas. The study The impact of mercury in protected areas and peoples in the Amazon rainforest: an integrated health-enviroment approach was conducted by the Sergio Arouca National Public Health School (Ensp/Fiocruz), in partnership with the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic Health School (EPSJV/Fiocruz), supported by the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA). The researchers identified the presence of the heavy metal in hair samples of about 300 people analyzed, including children and seniors.
“This scenario of vulnerability exponentially increases the risk of children who live in the area getting sick, and potentially favoring the onset of more severe clinic manifestation related to the chronic exposure to mercury, especially in those younger than 5 years old,” explains the coordinator of the study, Paulo Basta, physician and researcher at Ensp/Fiocruz.
The study had the samples collected in the region of Alto Rio Mucajaí, in October 2022. The place has been target to the illegal mining for decades, which has been causing environmental destruction, insecurity, violence and damage to the health of the indigenous people. “Mining is now the biggest evil in Yanomami territories. It is urgent and necessary to demarcate and remove the invaders. If the mining activity remains, the contamination, devastation, diseases such as malaria and malnourishment will also remain, and that is the result of the research, that is the concrete evidence!” emphasizes the vice-president of the Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), Dário Vitório Kopenawa.
Out of the 287 hair samples examined, 84% registered levels of mercury contamination above 2.0 µg/g. 10.8% were above 6.0 µg/g, level considered high, which requires special attention and complementary investigation. In the two ranges of contamination, it is necessary to notify the cases to the Aggravation Notice Information System (Sinan), in order to produce official statistics on the problem in the region.
The researchers highlighted that indigenous people with the highest levels of mercury more frequently presented cognitive deficits and nerve damage on the ends, such as hands, arms, feet and legs. According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), levels above 6 micrograms of mercury by hair strand (μg.g-1 ) may bring severe consequences to health, especially to vulnerable groups. Thus, there is no safe exposure limit to Hg.
Source: Fiocruz News Agency (AFN).
