Human exposure to mercury in artisanal small-scale gold mining areas of Kedougou region, Senegal, as a function of occupational activity and fish consumption

Autor: Birane Niane, Robert Moritz, Claudia Cosio, Naresh Deverajan, Papa Malick Ngom, Stéphane Guédron, Hans Rudolf Pfeifer, John Poté
Přispěvatelé: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences [Geneva], University of Geneva [Switzerland], Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-PRES Université de Grenoble-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux (IFSTTAR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR219-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry]), Université Cheikh Anta Diop [Dakar, Sénégal] (UCAD), Institut des Dynamiques de la Surface Terrestre [Lausanne] (IDYST), Université de Lausanne (UNIL)
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Vol. 22 (2015) pp. 7101-7111
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Springer Verlag, 2015, 22 (9), pp.7101-7111
Europe PubMed Central
ISSN: 1614-7499
0944-1344
Popis: We investigated mercury (Hg) exposure of food web and humans in the region of Kedougou, Senegal, where Hg is used for gold amalgamation in artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM). For this purpose, total mercury (THg) concentration was determined in eight fish species and two shellfish species from Gambia River and in human hair from 111 volunteers of different age and sex, living in urban locations (Kedougou and Samekouta) or in ASGM areas (Tinkoto and Bantako). THg concentrations in fish samples range from 0.03 to 0.51 mg kg(-1) wet weight (ww) and 0.5 to 1.05 mg kg(-1) ww for shellfish. THg concentrations in fish are below the WHO guideline of 0.5 mg kg(-1) ww, whereas 100 % of shellfish are above this safety guideline. In the entire set of fish and shellfish samples, we documented a decrease of THg concentrations with increasing selenium to mercury (Se:Hg) ratio suggesting a protection of Se against Hg. However, local population consuming fish from the Gambia River in the two ASGM areas have higher THg concentrations (median = 1.45 and 1.5 mg kg(-1) at Bantako and Tinkoto) in hair than those from others localities (median = 0.42 and 0.32 mg kg(-1) at Kedougou town and Samekouta) who have diverse diets. At ASGM sites, about 30 % of the local population present Hg concentrations in hair exceeding 1 mg kg(-1), defined as the reference concentration of Hg in hair. We also evidence a higher exposure of women to Hg in the Tinkoto ASGM site due to the traditional distribution of daily tasks where women are more involved in the burning of amalgams. The discrepancy between the calculated moderate exposure through fish consumption and the high Hg concentrations measured in hair suggest that fish consumption is not the only source of Hg exposure and that further studies should focus on direct exposure to elemental Hg of population living at ASGM sites.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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