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Maurice L, López F, Becerra S, Jamhoury H, Le Menach K, Dévier MH, Budzinski H, Prunier J, Juteau-Martineau G, Ochoa-Herrera V, Quiroga D, Schreck E. Drinking water quality in areas impacted by oil activities in Ecuador: Associated health risks and social perception of human exposure. Sci Total Environ 2019; 690:1203-1217. [PMID: 31470483 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/06/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The unregulated oil exploitation in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon Region (NEAR), mainly from 1964 to the 90's, led to toxic compounds largely released into the environment. A large majority of people living in the Amazon region have no access to drinking water distribution systems and collects water from rain, wells or small streams. The concentrations of major ions, trace elements, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) were analyzed in different water sources to evaluate the impacts of oil extraction and refining. Samples were taken from the NEAR and around the main refinery of the country (Esmeraldas Oil Refinery/State Oil Company of Ecuador) and were compared with domestic waters from the Southern region, not affected by petroleum activities. In most of the samples, microbiological analysis revealed a high level of coliforms representing significant health risks. All measured chemical compounds in waters were in line with national and international guidelines, except for manganese, zinc and aluminum. In several deep-water wells, close to oil camps, toluene concentrations were higher than the natural background while PAHs concentrations never exceeded individually 2 ng·L-1. Water ingestion represented 99% of the total exposure pathways for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic elements (mainly zinc) in adults and children, while 20% to 49% of the Total Cancer Risk was caused by arsenic concentrations. The health index (HI) indicates acceptable chronic effects for domestic use according the US-EPA thresholds. Nevertheless, these limits do not consider the cocktail effects of metallic and organic compounds. Furthermore, they do not include the social determinants of human exposure, such as socio-economic living conditions or vulnerability. Most (72%) of interviewed families knew sanitary risks but a discrepancy was observed between knowledge and action: religious beliefs, cultural patterns, information sources, experience and emotions play an important role front to exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Maurice
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Toulouse University, CNRS, IRD, 31400 Toulouse, France; Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Área de Salud, Toledo N22-80, P.O. Box 17-12-569, Quito, Ecuador.
| | - Fausto López
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Toulouse University, CNRS, IRD, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Sylvia Becerra
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Toulouse University, CNRS, IRD, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Hala Jamhoury
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Master Génie de l'Environnement, Switzerland
| | - Karyn Le Menach
- Bordeaux University - CNRS, EPOC UMR 5805, LPTC, F-33400 Talence, France
| | | | - Hélène Budzinski
- Bordeaux University - CNRS, EPOC UMR 5805, LPTC, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - Jonathan Prunier
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Bois, UMR EcoFoG, CNRS, Campus Agronomique de Kourou, 97387 Kourou, France; Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Toulouse University, CNRS, IRD, 31400 Toulouse, France
| | - Guilhem Juteau-Martineau
- Centre d'Études et de Recherches Travail Organisation Pouvoir (CERTOP), Maison de la Recherche, Université de Toulouse, 31058 Toulouse, France
| | - Valeria Ochoa-Herrera
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, P.O. 17-0901, Quito, Ecuador; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 2759, USA
| | - Diego Quiroga
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, P.O. 17-0901, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Eva Schreck
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Toulouse University, CNRS, IRD, 31400 Toulouse, France
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Barraza F, Maurice L, Uzu G, Becerra S, López F, Ochoa-Herrera V, Ruales J, Schreck E. Distribution, contents and health risk assessment of metal(loid)s in small-scale farms in the Ecuadorian Amazon: An insight into impacts of oil activities. Sci Total Environ 2018; 622-623:106-120. [PMID: 29212049 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- F Barraza
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France.
| | - L Maurice
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France; Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar, Área de Salud, Toledo N22-80, P.O. Box 17-12-569, Quito, Ecuador
| | - G Uzu
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38058 Grenoble, France; Universidad Mayor San Andrés, Laboratorio de Física de la Atmósfera, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - S Becerra
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - F López
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France
| | - V Ochoa-Herrera
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, P.O. Box 17-0901, Quito, Ecuador
| | - J Ruales
- Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, P.O. Box 17-12-759, Quito, Ecuador
| | - E Schreck
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, F-31400 Toulouse, France
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