Mercury levels and risk perception in a gold mining population from Guainía, Colombia (Orinoquia region)

Abstract

Gold mining in the Colombian Orinoquia region had a fast growth in the last 15 years. Mercury is used during the gold amalgam process, and its presence is an important problem of public health because it produces a polluted ecosystem and increases the risk of mercury-related adverse health effects among the exposed human population. The main objective of this study was to determine the mercury levels in blood and hair, and the risk perception of the mercury exposure in a population from Guainía. Fifty-nine blood and sixty-one hair samples were collected to measure the mercury concentration. The findings show a very deteriorated occupational environment that results in contamination of the Orinoquia ecosystem. The subjects perceived the mercury exposure like noxious to their health, although their knowledge about mercury-related health effects is inadequate. The mercury levels in blood are between 6.9 and 168.0 ug/l (mean=59.16) among the mining workers, and between 17.7 y 100.8 ug/l (meanz53.50) among subjects indirectly exposed. The total mercury levels in hair are between 3.0 and 89.2 ud/g (mean=26.93) among the mining workers, and from 2.8 to 48.70 ug/g (meam22.86) among subjects indirectly exposed. No significant differences were found between the two exposure groups studied. We suggest preventive and control measures to minirnize the exposure to mercuty related with gold mining in the region under study.