Contaminação por Mercúrio no Rio Madeira: percepção socioambiental da Comunidade Ribeirinha Descanso, Humaitá-Am

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems today, affecting ecosystems, public health, and the ways of life of traditional populations. In this context, riverside communities, which historically face complex social and environmental issues, have their situations worsened by this contamination, amplifying socio-environmental inequalities and vulnerabilities. Given this scenario, this study aims to analyze the residents' perception regarding the socio-environmental effects of mercury contamination in the Descanso riverside community, located on the right bank of the Madeira River, in the municipality of Humaitá-AM. The research adopted a qualitative approach and, during the fieldwork stage, utilized the case study method. For data collection, semi-structured questionnaires with open-ended and closed-ended questions related to socioeconomic and socio-environmental aspects were applied. For the interpretation of the residents' narratives and representations, the Content Analysis technique was adopted, structured into three phases: pre-analysis, material exploration, and treatment of results. From this processing, it was found that gold mining acts as a complementary activity for the subsistence of a significant portion of riverside families during dry seasons, which makes mercury a widely known and used product in the region. However, chemical risks are minimized by the inhabitants, a scenario that is aggravated by the total absence of educational actions or preventive health measures in the locality. Given this context, it is evident that public policies in the Amazon must stem from participatory diagnoses with riverside populations, integrating environment, education, health, and economy in order to promote access to information and clean technologies. These actions should assist in understanding the impacts of mining activities, in addition to proposing economic alternatives compatible with river geography. Likewise, it is necessary to monitor the use of mercury due to its nature as a highly contaminating element. Keywords: