Page 187 - 00. Complete Version - Progress Report IPEN 2014-2016

Nuclear Science and Technology | Progress Report 187

Area On The City Of Chapada
ement supplementation can result in an im- De Natividade – Tocantins
provement in athletic performance. These facts
have resulted in an increase in the number of The objective of the work is to evaluate the
brands and types of multivitamins or mineral mercury exposure of children living in the ar-
supplements as well as dietary proteins avail- tisanal gold mining area and in a control area,
able in the market, which makes quality con- without mining. A cross-sectional study was
trol of these products a subject of great con- conducted with children living in the munic-
cern to government entities responsible for ipalities of Chapada de Natividade and Porto
the general health of the population. Nacional, in the State of Tocantins, where hair
samples were collected for laboratorial analy-
In this study, dietary supplements acquired in sis of mercury concentrations, comparing be-
pharmacies and drugstores in São Paulo city tween municipalities, gender, monthly fish
were analyzed by neutron activation analysis. consumption, profession of parents and the
Concentrations of As, Br, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, presence of amalgam in dental restorations.
La, Na, Sb, Sc Se and Zn were determined. From The participating children were selected from
these results of element concentrations, it was information registered in the cadastre of the
possible to calculate the data to be used to com- service of basic health assistance of Brazil (SUS).
pare with product label values. These compari- The chosen age range was of children from 5
sons indicated, in general, a good agreement of to 6 years, with the aim of not including old-
the data obtained and the values of the prod- er children, which might be already submit-
uct label depending on the supplement. Dai- ted to work in the artisanal gold mining activ-
ly intake of these supplements was calculat- ities. The hair samples were analyzed by the
ed as per consumption instructions stated on methods of neutron activation analysis and
the product labels. According to the techni- also by means of the DMA (Direct Mercury An-
cal regulation of nutritional labeling of foods alyzer) equipment, in the last case in partner-
and dietary supplements in Brazil, there is a ship with CETESB. There was no evidence of
legal tolerance of ± 20% of the declared nu- mercury-related diseases in the studied chil-
trient quantities on the label. Multivitamin dren. The mean concentration of mercury in
supplements showed amounts of elements children in Chapada de Natividade was sig-
within the legislation, unlike dietary supple- nificantly higher than in Porto Nacional. Chil-
ment proteins for athletes that presented sev- dren exposed to artisanal gold mining areas
eral elements with quantities outside the tol- had higher concentrations of mercury than
erable level. children living in non-artisanal gold mining
areas. There was no significant relationship
The findings of this study suggest a careful between mercury concentrations and gender,
evaluation of nutritional supplements avail- monthly fish consumption, parental profession
able in the market. The study also showed and amalgam presence in dental restorations.
that NAA can provide important information The results suggest that the children living in
about the composition of minerals present in an area exposed to mining experience greater
supplements and, this technique can be used environmental exposure to mercury, regard-
as a control of supplement composition. less of their eating habits or gender. Since it
is known from many studies in the literature
Evaluation Of Mercury Levels In Hair that hair mercury concentrations may be re-
Of Children Residents In Garimpo lated to fish consumption, it was considered