Evaluación de la calidad ambiental en zonas influenciadas por la minería de oro en el sur de Ecuador.

Abstract

The present work aims to identify heavy metals that are found in hair samples from people who live in areas under metal mining influence in the provinces of Zamora Chinchipe and El Oro. The presence of metals in hair can be attributed to the consumption of contaminated water or food. Based on information of eating habits and water consumption, which are available from surveys carried out, and the concentrations of metals in human hair, the possible impact on the health of the population was evaluated. The concentrations of metals in human hair were compared with reference values (literature) and the concentrations of metals in the hair of a control group, to determine if people are exposed to heavy metal contamination or it already affected their health. It was evidenced by the information from the surveys that most of the population obtains water by extracting it underground, which presents visual, stomach, and nervous discomfort because the metal with the highest frequency of appearance in hair samples was manganese, this metal causes alterations to the brain and affections to the respiratory system. Finally, the abundance of metals in the hair samples for the province of Zamora was Mn>Cd>Pb>Hg and for the province of El Oro was Mn>Cd>Hg, Pb>As.