Assessment of mercury concentration in turtles (Podocnemis unifilis) in the Xingu river basin, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Pignati, Marina Teófilo
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Pezzuti, Juarez Carlos Brito, Souza, Larissa Costa de, Lima, Marcelo de Oliveira, Pignati, Wanderlei Antonio, Mendes, Rosivaldo de Alcântara
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Digital do Instituto Evandro Chagas (Patuá)
• Texto Completo: https://patua.iec.gov.br/handle/iec/3181
• topic: Mercúrio / toxicidade; Intoxicação por Mercúrio / microbiologia; Poluição de Rios / análise; Hepatócitos / análise; Monitoramento Ambiental; Tartarugas / metabolismo; Região Norte (BR); Rio Xingu (PA); Bacia do Rio Xingu

Abstract: Many studies on mercury contamination in aquatic biota deal with the effect of consuming metal-contaminated organisms on human health. In this study, we examined the factors that cause mercury contamination in Podocnemis unifilis in the Xingu River Basin of Mato Grosso and Pará States, Brazil. We quantified by atomic absorption spectroscopy with cold vapor the total mercury (THg) content in the liver and muscle samples of 50 Podocnemis unifilis specimens collected from the basin. The liver and muscle samples contained 134.20 ± 119.30 ng g−1 THg and 24.86 ± 26.36 ng g−1 THg, respectively. Each chelonian or meal has, on average, 5.34× more Hg than the highest level established as acceptable. From the results it can be inferred that, given the weekly consumption of chelonians, the riverine and indigenous communities in the Xingu River Basin are at risk of chronic consumption of Hg in amounts beyond the acceptable limit. The potential high risk to the health of this population is evident; however, the risk classification needs to be further studied