Mercury is ‘tip of the iceberg’ in indigenous health – 02/23/2023 – Health

Mercury contamination in indigenous lands represents part of the problems caused by the presence of miners. “It’s the tip of the iceberg”, says physician Paulo Cesar Basta, who has been studying the health of native peoples for decades.

A researcher at Fiocruz’s National School of Public Health, he states that the entry of miners is followed by a series of disruptive actions. Taken together, these measures challenge health professionals and demand integrated actions.

“The Ministry of Health, Justice or Indigenous Peoples alone will not solve it. It is necessary to develop public policies and inter-ministerial interventions”, affirms Basta, who began working with the Yanomami in 1998.

He explains that, after arriving in the territory, the prospectors cause the vegetation cover to be cut down and the watercourses changed, in addition to opening large caves that create suitable conditions for the reproduction of mosquitoes. Insects lead to an increase not only in cases of malaria, but also in visceral and tegumentary leishmaniasis.

The deforestation process also chases away game. Larger mammals, such as tapirs and wild pigs, when they are not killed by the miners themselves, move away. Devastation also reduces the areas where communities can plant their crops and eliminates a series of plants that are considered medicinal.

“Generally, mining enters in this more truculent way and then uses strategies to coopt young men with the promise of enrichment and access to goods and equipment that come from the city. As the young man, who is strong, warrior, he leaves the community, his family is vulnerable and there are internal conflicts because the older ones are against mining”, reports the researcher.

The departure of men has a direct impact on food security, as there is a traditional division of labor. “The woman is responsible for managing the garden, which is basically composed of elements that have carbohydrates, and it is up to the man to go out fishing, hunting and bringing back the protein to feed his family”, says the doctor.

The change in diet is aggravated by another method used by the prospectors: the distribution of basic food baskets, with products high in fat, salt and sugar. They change eating habits and favor a double load of nutritional deviations. On the one hand, children and elderly people with malnutrition. On the other, young adults with overweight, hypertension and diabetes.

A study carried out in 2018 and 2019 by Basta’s group in two regions of Yanomami land —Awaris, in the extreme north of Roraima, and Maturacá, in Amazonas— showed that 80% of the 350 children evaluated had a height deficit for their age, 50%, weight deficit for age and 70%, anemia due to acute malnutrition.

Scientists then decided to attack one of the fronts of the problem and try to provide drinking water. “We returned to the territory this year and collected samples of water and sediment from the rivers. We are analyzing chemical and microbiological contaminants to set up, together with the community, a supply system and reduce cases of diarrhea, dehydration and malnutrition.”

Furthermore, reminds Basta, there is the issue of sexual violence, leading to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases and gestational syphilis.

“At the tip of the iceberg is the mercury used in mining, which will contaminate the soil, riverbeds, enter the food chain and reach humans, causing tissue damage”, says the doctor.

In adults, the most common signs of mercury contamination involve chronic headache, ringing in the ears, permanent metallic taste in the mouth, changes in vision, insomnia, irritability, tremors of the extremities, decreased sensitivity of the feet and hands.

In pregnant women and children, the situation is even more delicate. Mercury has the ability to cross the placental barrier and reach the fetus, affecting the development of the central nervous system. Contamination can cause repeated miscarriages and, in the case of birth, cause deformities, cerebral palsy and developmental delay.

“Children are born apparently well, but at six months they can’t support their head, they can’t sit. They take time to sit, crawl, stand, take their first steps, speak. They don’t play like other children, they have difficulty learning, and are effects of chronic exposure to mercury in the prenatal period”, says Basta.

“There are estimates that, for each microgram of mercury detected in a sample of the mother’s hair, the child loses 0.18 points in IQ (intelligence quotient)”, adds the doctor.

“With compromised neurological health, these children may not be able to reach prominent positions in society in adult life to break the cycle of poverty. This will deepen social inequality and the structural colonialism installed for centuries”.

For him, the situation requires society to recognize that the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous people is essential to keep the forest standing and that these territories must be respected. The government, in turn, needs to intensify inclusion policies so that more indigenous people occupy vacancies in universities and posts in the Legislative and Executive branches; guarantee the sovereignty of the territory and provide essential services.

“It is necessary to have drinking water, waste management and access to well-structured health services, with equipment and competent higher-level professionals, preferably established through public tenders”, says the researcher.