Avaliação do consumo de peixes e exposição mercurial em comunidades do Baixo Tapajós, Pará.

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic metals found naturally in the environment. Among traditional populations in the Amazon, fish contaminated by Hg is the main route of exposure to the market. The aim of this study was to characterize fish consumption as a source of mercury exposure in the population of Baixo Tapajós. This descriptive and community-based study was carried out between 2015 and 2019. A questionnaire with sociodemographic information and frequency of fish consumption was applied in 9 riverside communities. Blood was collected to determine Hg. This study covered a total of 454 participants, of whom 298 were women (66%) and 156 men (34%), with a mean age of 43.3 years. For 75.8% of participants, HgT concentrations exceeded 10 μg/L. Individuals who consume fish with high frequency represented 83.3% of the analyzed sample, and this group had the highest concentrations of HgT, an average of 43.6 μg/L. In view of the expressive amount of people exposed to Hg, the need for a lower consumption of predatory fish and greater diversity for different trophic levels can be indicated.