ENVI RONMENTAL RESEARCH, SECTI ON A 77, 7378 (1998)

ARTI CLE NO. ER983828

Gold Mining as a Source of Mercury Exposure in the Brazilian Amazon
Ol af Mal m
Laborato rio deRadioiso topos Eduardo Penna Franca, I nstituto deBiofsica Carlos Chagas Filho, CCS, UFRJ ,
21941-000 Rio deJ aneiro, Brazil
Recei ved January 6, 1998
Amalgamation has been used for more than 4500
yearsin miningprocesses. Mercury hasbeen exten-
sively used in South Americaby Spanish colonizers
for precious metal recovery. It is estimated that
between1550and1880,nearly200,000metrictonnes
of mercury was released to the environment. Dur-
ing the present gold rush, Brazil is rst in South
Americaandsecondintheworldingoldproduction
(with 90% coming from informal mining or garim-
pos). At least 2000 tonnes of mercury has been re-
leased totheenvironment in thepresent gold rush.
From the mid 1980s, environmental research has
been carried out in impacted Amazon rivers, later
followed by human exposure studies. The river
basins studied were the Tapajo s, Madeira, and Ne-
gro, but also some man-made reservoirs and areas
in central Brazil. The analyses mainly involved
sediments,soil, air, sh, humanhair, andurine. The
results show high variability, perhaps related to
biological diversity, biogeochemical differences in
the river basins, and seasonal changes. High mer-
curyvaluesalsooccur in someareaswithnoknown
history of gold mining. The results available docu-
ment a considerableimpact on environmental mer-
cury concentrations and frequent occurrence of
human exposure levels that may lead to adverse
health effects. 1998Academic Press
Key Words: mercury; amazon; air; sh; hair;
urine; human risk.
INTRODUCTION
Arti sanal gol dmi ni ng i s usi ng si mpl e processes to
extract gol d from secondary or pri mary ore bodi es.
Usual l y secondary deposi ts or very ne gol d par-
ti cl es need mercury for good gol d recovery. The
amal gamati on process was known by the Phoe-
ni ci ans and the Carthagi ans (2700 BC), who com-
merci al i zed mercury from the Al made n mi nes i n
Spai n. Cai us Pl i ni us i n hi s Natural Hi story
(50 AD) descri bes the mi ni ng techni que for gol d and
si l ver wi th an amal gamati on process that i s si mi l ar
to the one used today i n many gol d mi ni ng areas.
Fi nal recovery of ne gol d parti cl es extracted was
al ways done through heati ng or burni ng of the amal -
gam wi th hi gh mercury emi ssi ons to the atmosphere
i n many tropi cal countri es, especi al l y i n South
Ameri ca but al so i n Asi a and Afri ca where a new
gol d rush i s occurri ng (Lacerda and Sal omons,
1997). I n South Ameri ca thi s procedure has ben used
i n countri es l i ke Brazi l , Venezuel a, Col ombi a,
Bol i vi a, French Guyana, Guyana, Ecuador, and
Peru si nce the 1980s.
The current gol d rush i n South Ameri ca i s the
consequence of an i ncrease i n the gol d pri ces duri ng
the 1970s by a factor of 8 to 10, but al so has a strong
associ ati on wi th soci al and economi c di fcul ti es, i n-
cl udi ng unempl oyment, poverty, etc. (Pfei ffer and
Lacerda, 1988).
Mercury was extensi vel y used i n South Ameri ca
(mai nl y Mexi co, Peru, and Bol i vi a)by Spani sh col on-
i zers for si l ver and gol d recovery. I t i s esti mated
that, from the mi ddl e si xteenth century (1550)to the
mi ddl e ni neteenth century (1880), nearl y 200,000
tonnes of mercury was rel eased to the envi ronment
(Nri agu, 1993). A rel ease of 400 tonnes i s esti mated
for col oni al Brazi l duri ng the same peri od (Lacerda,
1997).
Si nce the 1980s, Brazi l has ranked as rst i n
South Ameri can gol d producti on wi th annual pro-
ducti on from 100 to 200 tonnes per year duri ng the
past 20 years 70 (wi th to nearl y 90% comi ng from
i nformal mi ni ng or garimpos), fol l owed by Col ombi a,
Venezuel a, Peru, and Bol i vi a. Thi s producti on woul d
correspond to about 2000 to 3000 tonnes of mercury
rel eased i nto the Brazi l i an Amazon envi ronment
duri ng the present gol d rush. These esti mates are
approxi mate, si nce formal gol d producti on and
mercury i mports were not wel l regi stered. Tabl e 1
shows some esti mates of mercury rel eased to the
73
0013-9351/98 $25.00
Copyri ght 1998 by Academi c Press
Al l ri ghts of reproducti on i n any form reserved.
TABLE 2
Mercury Concentration (gm
3
) in Air fromUrban, Rural, or Occupational Exposures
Ori gi n /si tuati on Average N Range Reference
Rondo ni a SW Amazon
Urban, far from reburni ng areas 7 (0.02(0.66 Mal m et al., 1991
Urban, nearby reburni ng areas 2.80 8 0.457.50
Occupati onal exposure duri ng reburni ng i n the deal ers shops 71.40 7 17.50107.20
Occupati onal exposure duri ng burni ng i n the el d wi th vari ous retorts 91.70 6 (10.24296
Occupati onal exposure duri ng burni ng i n the el d wi thout retorts 15,499 6 (42.2959,600
Outl ets wi th contrary water reux for mercury recovery system 1,280 5 (1205,162
Ai r sampl es cl ose to waterfal l s 3 (0.140.50
Pocone Ci ty (urban area) Central Brazi l
Urban, nearby reburni ng areas 10 (0.141.86 Mari ns et al., 1991
Above tai l i ngs 0.08 Tumpl i ng et al., 1995
Al ta Fl oresta Ci ty South Amazon
Occupati onal exposure duri ng reburni ng i n the deal ers shops 5.14 86 0.0740.60 Hacon et al., 1995
Urban, far from reburni ng areas 0.61 152 0.015.79
TABLE 1
EstimatedMercury Input totheEnvironment DuetoGold
and Silver Mining
Total i nput Annual i nput
Peri od (tonnes) (tonnes per year)
Spani sh Col oni al Ameri ca 15541880 196,000 600
Al l North Ameri ca 18401900 60,000 1,000
Col oni al Brazi l 18001880 400 5
Brazi l i an Amazon 19791994 2,300 150
Venezuel a 19881997 360 40
Col ombi a 19871997 240 30
Bolivia (Pando Department) 19791997 300 20
Phi l i ppi nes 19851997 200 26
Tanzani a 19911997 24 6
Chi na 19921997 480 120
Note. Data from Nri agu, 1993; Lacerda and Sal omons, 1997; Vei ga,
1997, and esti mates from the author.
envi ronment due to mi ni ng. I f total mercury rel eases
are consi dered, col oni al envi ronmental di scharges
were about 600 tonnes per year, whi l e currentl y
averagi ng about 150 tonnes per year. Mi ni ng of gol d
and si l ver duri ng the col oni al peri od uti l i zed mai nl y
pri mary ores but the current gol d rush i n the Ama-
zon affects mai nl y secondary gol d deposi ts (col l uvi al
or al l uvi al gol d reserves) i n soi l s or ri ver sedi ments,
where mercury rel eases duri ng mi ni ng di rectl y i n-
vol ve water bodi es.
The total number of mi ners i s probabl y between
200,000 and 400,000 wi thi n the Brazi l i an Amazon.
Hal f as many are thought to exi st i n Col ombi a and
Ecuador. For al l Lati n Ameri can countri es combi ned,
the esti mate i s between 543,000 and 1,039,000
mi ners (Vei ga, 1997). Duri ng the peak of the gol d
rush the esti mated number of mi ners i n Brazi l al one
was above 1,600,000 (Pfei ffer and Lacerda, 1988).
Studi es on mercury transport to water bodi es, i ts
transformati on to methyl mercury, and the contami -
nati on of food chai ns, i ncl udi ng human bei ngs, are
qui te recent i n South Ameri can countri es. I n the
mi ddl e 1980s envi ronmental research began i n the
Amazon ri ver basi ns.
I nvesti gati ons were mai nl y performed wi th sedi -
ments, soi l , ai r, sh, human hai r, and uri ne sampl es.
The most wel l studi ed ri ver basi ns are the Tapajo s,
Madei ra, and Negro, but some man-made reservoi rs
and some areas i n central Brazi l have al so been
studi ed. These resul ts wi l l be bri ey summari zed
here.
RESULTS
Di fferent sampl es from di sti nct gol dmi ni ng areas
have hel ped i n understandi ng the tropi cal mercury
cycl e and i denti ed human exposure pathways and
possi bl e ri sks. As a general resul t i n the case of
mercury vapor, resul ti ng from burni ng or reburni ng
of gol d amal gams, the mai n group of humans ex-
posed are the gol d deal ers i n shops rather than the
gol d mi ners (garimpeiros), who work outdoors. I n
the case of methyl mercury, the ri veri ne popul ati ons
consti tute the group at ri sk, as they depend on sh
as thei r mai n source of protei n.
The rst cri ti cal human exposure to mercury re-
sul ts from the burni ng of the amal gam, when a si g-
ni cant fracti on of mercury emi ssi ons occur mai nl y
to the atmosphere. Tabl e 2 summari zes the mai n
data on mercury i n ai r from di fferent studi es. Very
74 OLAF MALM
TABLE 3
Mercury Concentrations in Carnivorous or Piscivorous Fish fromDierent Amazon Areas
Ori gi n No. of speci es No. of sampl es Average (ng g\) Range (ng g\) Reference
Madei ra Ri ver 50 370 850 1653920 Mal m et al., 1997
Madei ra Ri ver 22 154 665 603960 Gal i , 1997
Madei ra Ri ver 251 638 11500 Barbosa et al., 1995
Tapajo sRi ver 23 118 498 255960 Mal m et al., 1997
Tapajo s Ri ver 12 212 499 462200 Uryu, 1996
Tapajo s Ri ver 19 73 511 1321354 Lebel et al., 1997
Tapajo s Ri ver 09 85 723 1203580 Hacon, 1996
Negro ri ver 18 113 780 2264231 Mal m et al., 1994
Tucuru Reservoi r 8 121 1300 2005900 Porvari et al., 1995
Bal bi na Reservoi r 6 27 371 491103 Mal m et al., 1996b,
Note. N total "1524.
hi gh ai r mercury concentrati ons are found when
burni ng amal gam i n open ai r. Fortunatel y thi s oc-
curs at a l ow frequency (about once a week) i n con-
necti on wi th gol d mi ni ng. Hi gh mercury ai r val ues
were found al so i n i ndoor areas i n gol d deal er shops
even wi thout reburni ng acti vi ti es. I n our studi es
(Mal m et al., 1995b) an average val ue of 71.50 g
m\
3
was obtai ned, i .e., above the 50 g m\
3
maxi mum l i mi t establ i shed by WHO (1991) for occu-
pati onal exposure. A more recent study (Hacon et al.,
1995) showed l ower average val ues, perhaps due to
decreased producti on rates.
I nhal ed metal l i c mercury i s readi l y absorbed
through l ungs (more than 85%) and after some ti me
i n the bl ood stream, part i s oxi di zed and accumu-
l ated i n the ki dneys (WHO, 1991). The mercuri c i on
i s excreted through uri ne, whi ch i s the best i ndi cator
of metal l i c mercury exposure and i norgani c mercury
body burden (WHO, 1991).
Reburni ng of amal gams (bul l i on) i n gol d deal er
shops i n ci ti es and vi l l ages contami nates i ndoor
areas and the vi ci ni ti es. The hi ghest average val ues
were observed i n uri ne sampl es from peopl e worki ng
under i ndoor condi ti ons wi th l i ttl e venti l ati on or i n
reburni ng rooms wi th ai r condi ti oni ng. Uri ne from
gol d shop workers contai ned mercury mostl y i n i nor-
gani c form (Akagi et al., 1995a). Hi gher val ues were
al so observed i n gol d traders compared wi th mi ners
(Cl eary et al., 1994) i n several gol dmi ni ng areas
al ong the Tapajo s basi n.
Of 78 uri ne sampl es col l ected from gol d shop
workers from Santare m duri ng 1991 and 1992 some
showed extremel y hi gh concentrati ons (up to 1200
g/L), very much above the l i mi t of 50 g/L estab-
l i shed by WHO (1991) (medi an val ue 115 g/L), but
i n 1994 (wi th medi an val ue of 5.2 g/L) the concen-
trati ons were consi derabl y l ower. The reducti on of
mercury val ues i s a l i kel y consequence of the mi ni ng
decl i ne, thus reduci ng the number of pri mi ti ve gol d
shops, but perhaps al so i s the resul t of recommenda-
ti ons by a l ocal physi ci an, Dr. Fernando J. P.
Branches. I n Al ta Fl oresta the val ues were si gni c-
antl y l ower (up to 70 g/L; medi an val ue of 11.7
duri ng the peri od from 1991 to 1995), but thi s i s
a young ci ty wi th newer and better venti l ated shops
(Mal m et al., 1997).
Fi sh i s the mai n source of methyl mercury to hu-
mans. Pi sci vorous or carni vorous sh from several
gol dmi ni ng areas show hi gher mercury concentra-
ti ons fol l owed by sh from l ower trophi c l evel s such
as omni vorous, detri ti vorous, and herbi vorous spe-
ci es.
The former shoul d be moni tored as i ndi cators of
aquati c system contami nati on as wel l as for publ i c
heal th reasons (Pfei ffer et al., 1993). There are
around 200 di fferent sh speci es of commerci al i m-
portance i n each ri ver basi n. Fi shi ng acti vi ti es
as wel l as sh fat and protei n contents (Val and
Al mei da-Val , 1995) vary si gni cantl y accordi ng to
the season (Mal m et al., 1995a; Lebel et al., 1997).
Fi sh from pri sti ne areas usual l y present l evel s
l ower than 0.2 g mercury g\
1
wet wt i n ri vers. I n
contami nated areas predatory sh can reach l evel s
of 2 to 6 g g\
1
or even more. The pi sci vorous and
carni vorous group from the mai n mi ned Amazon
ri ver basi ns usual l y present mercury average val ues
above the 0.5 g g\
1
maxi mum l i mi t establ i shed by
the Brazi l i an Legi sl ati on (Brasi l , 1975). Tabl e 3
summari zes mercury data on carni vorous and pi s-
ci vorous sh from Amazon areas.
I n some pi sci vorous/carni vorous sh speci es,
a tendency for i ncreasi ng mercury concentrati ons
wi th i ncreasi ng sh wei ght was observed. Even for
thi s group, a hi gh vari abi l i ty was observed even i n
the same speci es of sh col l ected at the same ti me i n
the same net (Mei l i et al., 1997). A mercury seasonal
GOLD MI NI NG AND MERCURY EXPOSURE I N AMAZON 75
TABLE 4
Total Mercury Concentrations in Hair fromDifferent Amazon Areas
Ori gi n No. of sampl es Average (g g\) Range Reference
Madei ra ri ver 169 8.98 0.2271 Mal m et al., 1996
Madei ra ri ver 242 17.2 303 Barbosa et al ., 1995; Boi schi o et al., 1995
Tapajo s ri ver 432 16.76 0.7176 Mal m et al., 1996; Akagi et al., 1995b
Tapajo s ri ver 96 13.2 1.0142 Lebel et al., 1997
Kayapo I ndi ans 419 8.00 37 Barbosa et al., 1995
Negro ri ver 154 75.5 171 Forsberg et al., 1995
Tucuru reservoi r 125 35 0.9240 Lei no and Lodeni us, 1995
Bal bi na Reservoi r 58 5.78 1.1526 Mal m et al., 1995b
Yanomami I ndi ans 162 3.61 1.408.14 Castro et al., 1991
Note. N total "1782.
vari abi l i ty was suggested for some pi sci vorous spe-
ci es, but more data are sti l l needed for several
speci es i n di fferent ri ver basi ns or reservoi rs.
Human hai r i s accepted as the best i ndi cator for
assessment of contami nati on i n popul ati ons exposed
to methyl mercury (WHO, 1990). Tabl e 4 presents
some mai n resul ts on mercury i n human hai r sam-
pl es from several areas. Agai n, i n general there i s
good agreement among the di fferent i nvesti gati ons,
and the total number of sampl es i s qui te i mpressi ve.
Several groups present average val ues wi thi n the
range associ ated wi th a ri sk to pregnant women
(WHO, 1990). At the same ti me a hi gh vari abi l i ty (as
i n sh) was observed i n hai r mercury even wi thi n
a fami l y or a group l i vi ng i n the same househol d. I n
general , a rel ati on between hai r mercury and sh
i ngesti on i s observed (Grandjean et al., 1993), but
vari abi l i ty i n the same fami l y may be hi gh. Hi gh
vari abi l i ty was al so observed among strands of hu-
man hai r (Akagi et al., 1994; Kehri g et al., 1997)
from the same house, whi ch coul d be expl ai ned by
seasonal changes but al so by the hi gh vari abi l i ty
observed i n sh.
DISCUSSION
Recent mercury emi ssi ons i n the Amazon are i m-
portant because of the new envi ronmental ci rcum-
stances of mercury rel eases rather than because of
thei r magni tude. The compl ex ecosystem associ ated
wi th tropi cal rai nforest ri ver basi ns wi th i ts enor-
mous bi odi versi ty i s the new chal l enge for the under-
standi ng of the mercury cycl e and for eval uati ng
mercury heal th ri sks.
I n Brazi l esti mati on of rel eases of mercury per
area or ri ver basi n does not correl ate wi th the l evel s
found i n bi ota. The Tapajo s ri ver basi n has been
prospected for a l onger ti me than the Madei ra (30
and 15 years, respecti vel y), but mercury concentra-
ti ons i n sh of the same speci es and wei ght range are
hi gher i n the l atter basi n. El evated concentrati ons
are found i n the Tapajo s ri ver basi n onl y i n i ts upper
reaches. The Negro ri ver, wi th no si gni cant hi story
of gol d mi ni ng acti vi ti es, presents qui te hi gh val ues
i n sh sampl es.
Si nce no i nput of mercury i s known for sure, the
hi gh l evel s of mercury i n the Negro ri ver sampl es
coul d be due to certai n natural processes of contami -
nati on some centuri es ago. Where the mercury re-
l eased duri ng the Spani sh Col oni al peri od i s now
sti l l a questi on. The i mportance of forest burni ng on
mercury emi ssi ons has al so been a matter of di s-
cussi on (Vei ga, 1997).
Changes i n sh al i mentary habi ts i n ri veri ne
popul ati ons are a factor that must be consi dered i n
human ri sk eval uati on. Neverthel ess, cl i ni cal eval u-
ati on (i f possi bl e showi ng changes from the past)
must support any deci si on i n thi s respect. Attenti on
must be pai d to avoi di ng pol i ti cal and di shonest bad
uses of thi s i nformati on.
Atmospheri c mercury i nvesti gati ons are neces-
sary for a better understandi ng of the di spersi on and
deposi ti on of mercury i n the surroundi ngs of urban
and rural areas i n the Amazon (Mal m et al., 1996a).
Further, better knowl edge on mercury methyl ati on
and the rate control l i ng factors i s essenti al for un-
derstandi ng food chai n contami nati on i n thi s tropi -
cal envi ronment.
Concentrati on of methyl mercury i n sedi ments,
water, and sh i s probabl y i nuenced by several
parameters, such as mercury concentrati on, mi cro-
bi ol ogi cal acti vi ty, organi c matter, presence of
methyl group donors, pH, redox potenti al , and O
2
,
among others.
The experi ments done so far i ndi cate detectabl e
methyl ati on i n bottom sedi ments of ri vers such as
76 OLAF MALM
the Madei ra and Tapajo s and hi gher rates i n
forest streams. The hi ghest methyl ati on rates were
recentl y found i n envi ronments that are typi cal of
tropi cal aquati c systems, such as the surface of sea-
sonal l y ooded forest soi l s and especi al l y the root
zone of the oati ng meadows formed by the aquati c
vegetati on, where up to 35%of added mercury chl or-
i de was converted to methyl mercury after short-
term experi ments (Gui mara es et al., 1997).
The hi gh vari abi l i ty of mercury val ues observed i n
carni vorous or pi sci vorous sh i s maki ng i t di fcul t
to generate advi ce on sh i ngesti on to the l ocal popu-
l ati on. Perhaps a smal l number of top predator spe-
ci es coul d be bl ackl i sted, but deci si ons must be made
area by area and revi ewed regul arl y.
Hi gh mercury val ues were observed i n several
i ndi vi dual cases as wel l as i n some popul ati ons. I f
neurol ogi cal damage occurs (Lebel et al., 1996), i ts
extent deserves to be documented to provi de
a deeper understandi ng of heal th ri sks and as a
basi s for di etary recommendati ons.
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