Assessment of risk to human health from simultaneous exposure to multiple contaminants in an artisanal gold mine in Serra Pelada, Pará, Brazil.
Contamination of soil, water and plants caused by gold mining is of great societal concern because of the risk of environmental pollution and risk to human health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the risk to human health from ingestion of As, Ba, Co, Cu, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Se and Ni present in soil, sterile and mineralized waste, and water and plants at a gold mine in Serra Pelada, Pará, Brazil. Samples of soil, sterile and mineralized waste, water and plants were collected around an artisanal gold mine located in Serra Pelada. The mean concentrations of potentially toxic elements in the soil were higher than the soil quality reference values as defined in the legislation, which may be attributeable to past mining activities. Water from the area close to the mine exhibited As, Ba and Pb concentrations exceeding the reference values established by the World Health Organization, deemed unfit for human consumption. Plants exhibited high Pb concentrations, representing a food safety risk to the population. The mean hazard index (HI) values were below the acceptable limit (1.0) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, although the highest HI values observed for adults and children were higher than the respective acceptable limits. Environmental contamination and risk to human health were heterogeneous in the surroundings of the mine. Mitigation strategies need to be adopted to decrease the risks of contamination to the environment and to the local population.
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon (ICA-UFRA), C. P. 917, Belém 66077-530, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: edna.santos@ufra.edu.br.
Edna Santos
ES
de Souza
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon (ICA-UFRA), C. P. 917, Belém 66077-530, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: alves.agro@gmail.com.
Renato Alves
RA
Texeira
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon (ICA-UFRA), C. P. 917, Belém 66077-530, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: hercilia_amaral@hotmail.com.
Hercília Samara Cardoso
HSC
da Costa
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon (ICA-UFRA), C. P. 917, Belém 66077-530, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: fjoliveira13@gmail.com.
Fábio Júnior
FJ
Oliveira
Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, CP 3037, Campus UFLA, 37200-000 Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: leonidas.melo@dcs.ufla.br.
Leônidas Carrijo Azevedo
LCA
Melo
Institute Evandro Chagas, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, Pará, 67000-030, Brazil. Electronic address: kelsonfaial@iec.pa.gov.br.
Kelson
K
do Carmo Freitas Faial
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon (ICA-UFRA), C. P. 917, Belém 66077-530, Pará, Brazil. Electronic address: antonio.fernandes@ufra.edu.br.
Antonio Rodrigues
AR
Fernandes
D001938:Brazil; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006046:Gold; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D006046:Gold
Amazon; Environmental pollution; Gold mining; Heavy metals; Human health risk; Serra Pelada