May 21, 2022

08:05

Diovana Rodrigues – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – At a public hearing held by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), this Friday, 20, in the Rondon unit of the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa), was discussed the creation of the ‘Mercury Forum’, which will be responsible for investigating the ore contamination in the Tapajós River basin and also in food, such as fish, which can cause harm to the population.

The research conducted through a partnership between Ufopa, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and WWF-Brazil, resulted in the verification of a serious state of contamination by mercury among the Munduruku people.

“A total of 462 adults from eight riverine communities and one urban area were evaluated. Overall, 75.6% of the participants had Hg concentrations above the safe limit (10 µg/L). Hg exposure was higher in the riverine population (90%) than in the urban areas (57.1%). The mean Hg levels were 21.8 ± 30.9 µg/L and 50.6 µg/L in urban and riparian dwellers, respectively. The average Hg level was higher in those aged between 41 and 60 years in urban and riverine areas, with riverine residents exhibiting on average twice as much as urban residents,” according to an article published in the scientific journal International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

At the hearing, representatives of the following institutions are part of the table: Public Ministry of the State of Pará (MPF-PA); Ufopa; Sindicato dos Trabalhadores(as) Rurais do Município de Santarém (STTR); Projeto Saúde e Alegria (PSA); Sociedade para Pesquisa e Proteção do Meio Ambiente (SAPOPEMA); Grupo de Defesa da Amazônia (GDA); Movement of Fishermen of the Lower Amazon (MOPEBAM); Tapajós Vivo Movement (MTV), Tapajós and Arapiuns Indigenous Council (CITA); Pastoral Commission of Fishermen of the Archdiocese of Santarem (CPP); WWF Brazil, social pastorals of the Archdiocese of Santarem, among others. The target audience is organized civil society, governmental and non-governmental institutions. The creation of the Forum goes back to social and environmental problems.

“Many have said that the miners are being criminalized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and by society in general and by NGOs (…) Nobody wants the death of the Tapajós River, but we need to understand that development needs to happen in a way that the river stays alive. There is another river in the state of Acre that is dying, and that is the Xingu River. A few people are making a lot of money from this investment, while others are dying. We need to go after this development in a sustainable way. We need science, people who do field studies. We’re not going to get anywhere without science,” said the representative of the Union Public Defender’s Office.

Testing

She also reinforced the need for a greater number of mercury tests in indigenous peoples and miners, in order to carry out dimensioned monitoring, to better understand what is happening and, thus, to create public policies. He also reinforced the incentive and help from laboratories to perform these tests, in addition to the training of health agents and sufficient infrastructure to reach all the affected populations in the most remote locations.

“(‘ ) The importance of the Forum on the issue of mining is demanded by society and if the nature of this Forum is not treated this way, we need a public space so that this issue can be discussed, otherwise the health issue will never be solved because we have other pains involved in this process”, said Prof. Dr. Aldenize Ruela Xavier, dean and representative of Ufopa.