CONGENITAL ANOMALIES OBSERVED IN XIKRIN INDIANS IN THE AREA NEAR THE PUMA MINE IN THE STATE OF PARÁ: EVALUATION OF HEAVY METAL TERATOGENICITY

Abstract

As a result of the results obtained from the sampling campaigns and chemical analyses of the monitoring points of the rivers that cross the Xikrin indigenous lands in the region of Carajás, southeast of the state of Pará, chemical and mineralogical analyses of the waters of the Cateté River, which pass through the installation point of the Mineração Onça Puma – MOP,  that they are contaminated and, after comparative observations between pathological reports and bibliographies of research and scientific works on symptoms and diseases caused by human, plant and animal contact with heavy metals, the Group for the Treatment of Ore, Energy and Environment - GTEMA/CNPq/UFPA awoke to a marked concern with the health of the Cateté River and the Xikrin indigenous people. Realizing this need, the Cateté River Monitoring and Recovery Project was created, which was filed with the Dean of Extension of the Federal University of Pará. In this project, semiannual visits are made to the river with the intention of verifying the degree of its environmental degradation in the vicinity of the villages and the mineral enterprise.