High concentrations of toxic metals in water consumed by the Maxakali indigenous community in Brazil

Eliseu Miranda De Assis,Nêmora Tregnago Barcellos,Jairo Lisboa Rodrigues,Anderson Garcez,Maicon Junior Dos Santos Souza,Cleide Aparecida Bomfeti,Márcia Cristina Da Silva Faria

doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.2215

Abstract

The Maxakali is the second largest indigenous population in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil; and parasitic diseases are its main cause of death. Problems related to the quality of water consumed by this population, added to the absence of public sanitation services, aggravate the risk of illnesses due to several water-borne pathologies. Thus, the main purpose of this paper was to evaluate the water quality consumed in natura by the Maxakali community, quantifying toxic metals in relation to the maximum values allowed by Brazilian law. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with samples of water collected in surfaceand groundwater in the Maxakali villages, including three seasonal periods. Villages with the greatest number of altered measures of metals in water were Aldeias Pradinho (100%) and Água Boa (92%). The smallest number of changes were found in Aldeias Verde and Rafael (27%). The metals that appeared in the largest number of collections with values higher than recommended were Iron (50%), followed by Arsenic (46%), Aluminum (36%), Cadmium (22%) and Mercury (20%), respectively. The study identified high concentrations of toxic metals in the water consumed by the Maxakali indigenous community in Brazil.

Highlights

The Maxakali are the second largest indigenous population in the State of Minas Gerais, located in the Southeast region of Brazil, including approximately 2020 individuals (Brasil, 2015)
Similar results were found in Aldeia Água Boa, where eight of the nine evaluated elements disagreed with the standards established for human consumption (Table 1)
Our study identified high concentrations of toxic metals in the water consumed by the Maxakali indigenous community in Brazil

Summary

Introduction

The Maxakali are the second largest indigenous population in the State of Minas Gerais, located in the Southeast region of Brazil, including approximately 2020 individuals (Brasil, 2015) They live in villages, the Maxakali indigenous community travels through several cities in the Northeast of the state, between the Mucuri, Jequitinhonha and Rio Doce valleys. The senses that evaluate the quality of water used for human consumption, which identify organoleptic characteristics that express taste, color and odor, may not reveal the actual sanitary water condition This fact, coupled with the precariousness of the public sanitation services, which determine the lack of systematic evaluations and the guarantee of minimum standards of potability, aggravates the risk of waterborne diseases in this vulnerable population group due to nutritional and parasitic conditions (Borges et al, 2009; Assis et al, 2013). A recent study identified high concentrations of toxic metals in rivers and tributaries near the regions of the Maxakali villages (Blanc et al, 2013)

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