Nivel de mercurio en cabello de niños peruanos expuestos en una zona minera de Arequipa y de la ciudad de Lima

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare the mercury levels tested in two groups of children from different locations from Peru: a mining countryside and a metropolitan area. Methods: The rural area was Mollehuaca (Arequipa), where children are exposed to mercury by artisanal mining. Fifty-two hair samples from children from the rural area were obtained. The urban area was District of Olives (Lima), where there is not mercury exposure by mining. Forty hair samples from children from the urban area were obtained. Mercury level was determined by induction coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) standard technique. Results: In the rural area, an average of level of mercury 7.47 ppb±26.9 was obtained; in urban areas the mercury level reached an average of 2.47 ppb±1.28. Not significant differences in the level of mercury according to age or gender were found. Conclusion: It is concluded that the group exposed to rural and informal gold mining presented an average of mercury levels in hair higher than those of the urban group, but this difference was not significant (p=0.188, α=0.05).