Abstract
Background: contamination of aquatic ecosystems by oil spills associated with petroleum exploitation represents a serious problem of environmental contamination that can affect human health. We developed a spatial model of contamination risk in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and evaluated the model using independent datasets on environmental contamination and clinical indicators of human health risk factors. Methods: the spatial risk of contamination for the Napo River basin was based on the calculation of a friction surface and the accessibility of possible oil contamination. Human health was evaluated using peripheral blood samples from 256 individuals. We used monitoring data on contamination to validate the spatial model of contamination risk and analyzed whether the estimated risk explained the incidence of human health risk factors. Results: our risk model showed a significant association with actual contamination detected in the study area. According to our risk model, around 30% of the territory has some level of contamination. Risk of contamination was associated with an increasing mean incidence in risk factors for human health in resident populations, but elevated contamination risk was not a significant predictor of the incidence of selected health indicators; only the incidence of inflammation was significantly increased. Conclusions: a large proportion of the populations in the Napo River basin has high vulnerability to contamination from petroleum exploitation, and this contamination risk may be traced in some indicators of health risk. Closer examination of health risk factors is warranted, and our spatial model of contamination risk can inform the design and analysis of such studies, as well as risk mitigation and management. Our approach to building the model of contamination risk could be applied in other catchments where petroleum exploitation is contemplated.
Highlights
This study aims to model the risk of exposure to petroleum contamination in the Napo River basin, Ecuador, as a tool to evaluate the vulnerability of human populations
1972 and 2009, 740 oil spills were registered
Our spatial model of contamination risk posits the dispersal behavior of petroleum contamination in water and over land
Summary
The increase in toxic residues in aquatic ecosystems has attracted increasing attention from researchers and politicians [1,2,3,4]. Contamination of aquatic ecosystems by anthropogenic activities is varied in type and grade of impact [9], and among these activities the petroleum exploitation has shown a serious impact in aquatic ecosystems Notorious disasters such as the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 [10] evidence the environmental damage that can result from the exploration, extraction and transport of Sustainability 2021, 13, 9230.
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