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Maurice, L., López, F., Becerra, S., Jamhoury, H., Le Menach, K., Dévier, M. - H., et al. (2019). Drinking water quality in areas impacted by oil activities in Ecuador: Associated health risks and social perception of human exposure. Sci. Total Environ., 690, 1203–1217.
Abstract: 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. © 2019
Keywords: Demineralized waters; Domestic waters; Hydrocarbons; Metal(loid)s; Oil activities; Social risk perception; Benzene refining; Health; Health risks; Hydrocarbons; Petroleum refineries; Petroleum refining; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Potable water; Risk assessment; Risk perception; Toluene; Trace elements; Water quality; Water wells; Zinc; Arsenic concentration; Demineralized water; Domestic water; Information sources; Living conditions; Microbiological analysis; Natural backgrounds; Oil activities; Water distribution systems
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Franco, W., Ladino, N., Delabie, J. H. C., Dejean, A., Orivel, J., Fichaux, M., et al. (2019). First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa, 4674(5), 509–543.
Abstract: We provide here a checklist of the ants of French Guiana, an overseas department of France situated in northern South America, with a very low human population density and predominantly covered by old-growth tropical rainforests. Based on 165 scientific papers, specimens deposited in collections, and unpublished surveys, a total of 659 valid species and subspecies from 84 genera and 12 subfamilies is presented. Although far from complete, these numbers represent approximately 10% of the ant diversity known to occur in the Neotropical realm. Additionally, three ant genera and 119 species are reported for the first time for French Guiana. Finally, five species are recognized as erroneous records for the the department in the literature. This checklist significantly expands the basic knowledge of the ants in the Guiana Shield, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots.
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