An assessment of mercury exposure in populations for two vulnerable indigenous communities in Suriname, South America

In Suriname, mercury (Hg) is released into the environment through gold mining activities and is biomagnified through the aquatic food web. Indigenous populations rely on fish as a major component of their diet and are potentially chronically exposed to Hg through consumption of tainted fish. The goal of this study is to determine the public health implications associated with exposure to Hg through the diet in vulnerable populations with existing health disparities in rural Suriname. Two communities located downriver from gold mining activities were identified. Preliminary studies indicated that many of the villagers consumed fish at least once a week and 75% of the sampled fish were at or above the WHO standard of 0.5 ug Hg/g, indicating a potential risk of mercury exposure. To further investigate these risks, a subset of the susceptible populations (women and children) from each village was recruited and administered a detailed 7-day dietary survey. Biomarkers of Hg exposure were obtained through an analysis of a hair samples from each participant. A total of 22 families participated in the dietary survey and 59 hair samples were collected (22 adult; 37 children). The mean hair mercury concentration for the adults was 4.6 ug/g with a range 1.1 - 9.1 ug/g. The mean mercury concentration for the children was 5.3 ug/g with a range 1.0 - 14.1 ug/g. All samples were at or above the EPA reference dose for hair mercury concentration set 1.0 ug/g. The results of this study will enable effective interventions and reduce the health disparities not only in the two villages, but also in other populations susceptible to the deleterious impact of gold mining.