Drinking water quality in areas impacted by oil activities in Ecuador: Associated health risks and social perception of human exposure
2019
Maurice, Laurence | López, Fausto | Becerra, Sylvia | Jamhoury, Hala | Le Menach, Karyn | Devier, Marie-Hélène | Budzinski, Hélène | Prunier, Jonathan | Juteau-Martineau, Guilhem | Ochoa-Herrera, Valeria | Quiroga, Diego | Schreck, Eva | Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France | Laboratoire de Physico et Toxico-Chimie des systèmes naturels (LPTC) ; Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC) ; École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (UMR ECOFOG) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-Université de Guyane (UG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) | Centre d'Etude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir (CERTOP) ; Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Laboratoire de chimie et biochimie des interactions (LCBI) ; Centre universitaire de formation et de recherche Jean-François Champollion - JFC (FRANCE) (CUFR)
International audience
Mostrar más [+] Menos [-]Inglés. 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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