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Copyright of Biomédica: Revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud is the property of Instituto Nacional de Salud of Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Biomédica: Revista del Instituto Nacional de Salud is the property of Instituto Nacional de Salud of Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introducción. El mercurio es un problema creciente de contaminación ambiental a nivel mundial, ya que se acumula en la cadena alimentaria y es una amenaza para la salud de los seres humanos y el ambiente. Objetivo. Identificar los efectos en la salud por exposición a mercurio en los departamentos colombianos con minería aurífera. Materiales y métodos. Se trata de un estudio descriptivo transversal. Se evaluaron las concentraciones de mercurio en sangre, orina y cabello de 238 indígenas del Vaupés, y en agua y pescado; se hizo diligenciamiento de encuestas y valoración médica. Todos firmaron un consentimiento informado. Resultados. Se encontraron concentraciones de mercurio en orina (X=15,1 μg/L), sangre (X=78,4 μg/L) y cabello (X=19,6 μg/g), que están entre 8 y 10 veces por encima de los valores de referencia. Los síntomas más reportados fueron: sudoración, pérdida de peso, no sentirse saludable, pérdida de cabello, dificultad respiratoria, alteraciones de memoria, irritabilidad, vértigo, visión borrosa y cefalea. Hubo correlación entre las concentraciones de mercurio en las matrices biológicas y las alteraciones en la marcha y el sabor metálico. Se encontró mercurio en peces (X=0,627 μg de Hg/g). Las muestras de agua fueron negativas para mercurio. Conclusiones. El consumo de pescado contaminado es la principal fuente de exposición en la población evaluada, que puede ser extensiva a otras comunidades del Vaupés, ya que es su única fuente de proteína, lo que demanda acciones inmediatas para reducir el riesgo. Se debe recomendar el consumo de especies no carnívoras y aplicar la Ley 1658 para eliminar el uso del mercurio y establecer programas de monitoreo de las concentraciones de mercurio en la población. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Painters of automobiles are exposed to pure and mixed solvents that have been associated with neurological effects and carcinogenic mutations., Objective: To characterize the health and work conditions of individuals who are occupationally exposed to organic solvents used in sheet metal and auto body shops in Bogota., Materials and Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study that characterizes the health and work conditions of individuals exposed to organic solvents in sheet metal and auto body shops in Bogota. A group exposed to the solvents was compared to an unexposed group. Air concentrations of benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) were determined, individual questionnaires were administered and phenylmercapturic, hippuric and ortho- and para-methylhippuric acids were measured in urine. The results of the measurements and the questionnaires were correlated to determine the exposure panorama., Results: For the three BTX metabolites, statistically significant differences (p<0.001) were found between the population exposed to the solvents and the unexposed population. For the exposed population, positive correlations were found between toluene in air and hippuric acid in urine (rho=0.82) and between xylene in air and o-methylhippuric acid in urine (rho=0.76). Hippuric acid values exceeded permissible levels in 11 workers and p-methylhippuric acid exceeded permissible levels in 8 workers. None of the phenylmercapturic values exceeded the limit., Conclusion: Auto painters are exposed to high levels of organic solvents at the workplace and do not have adequate industrial health and safety conditions to perform their jobs.