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INTRODUCTION: Exposure to pollutants such as pesticides and heavy metals has been linked to health problems. Several studies have revealed the presence of these contaminants in Cali; however, there is no information available about the main routes of exposure and risk of these contaminants. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the risk associated with the intake of cadmium, lead and mercury, and pesticides 2,4-D and diuron through the consumption of water and food in a population in Cali. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Population and environmental data were obtained, and a risk assessment was performed using United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. RESULTS: The concentrations of the evaluated pollutants were below permissible levels as established by the Colombian Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial (3 µg/L -1 of cadmium; 10 µg/L -1 of lead; 1 µg/L -1 of mercury; 1 µg/L -1 of 2,4 D; 1 µg/L -1 of diuron). Salema butterfish ( Peprilus snyderi ) samples contained levels of cadmium between 20 and 80 µg/kg -1 , which are below the permissible limit set by the World Health Organization (100 µg/kg -1 ). The results of the risk assessment indicated that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic attributable risk to population health from the intake of food contaminants was below the maximum level permitted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. CONCLUSIONS: It is believed that the findings in previous studies on pollutants may have been due to specific contamination events; therefore, monitoring and early warning about water intake is recommended. Furthermore, the report of cadmium being found in fish consumed as food suggests the need for quality control by regulators.

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Introducción. La exposición a contaminantes como plaguicidas y metales pesados, se asocia a problemas de salud. Diversos estudios revelan la presencia de estos contaminantes en Cali; sin embargo, no existe información sobre las rutas principales de esa exposición y su riesgo implícito. Objetivo. Estimar los riesgos asociados a la exposición a cadmio, plomo y mercurio, y a los plaguicidas ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético y diuron, debida al consumo de agua potable y alimentos en un grupo de población de Cali. Materiales y métodos. Se obtuvieron datos ambientales e información sobre la población, y se valoró el riesgo empleando los modelos de la Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) de los Estados Unidos. Resultados. Las concentraciones de los contaminantes evaluados estuvieron por debajo de las permisibles establecidas por el Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial de Colombia (3 µg/L -1 de cadmio; 10 µg/L -1 de plomo; 1 µg/L -1 de mercurio; 1 µg/L - 1 de ácido 2,4 diclorofenoxiacético; 1 µg/L -1 de diuron). En las muestras de pescado "manteco" ( Peprilus snyderi ), se detectaron concentraciones de cadmio entre 20 y 80 µg/kg -1 por debajo del límite permisible establecido por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (100 µg/kg -1 ). Los resultados de la valoración mostraron que el riesgo cancerígeno y no cancerígeno atribuible a la ingestión de alimentos y de agua potable con presencia de los contaminantes evaluados, estaba por debajo de los valores máximos admisibles según la EPA. Conclusiones. Se cree que los hallazgos sobre contaminantes en estudios anteriores, pueden deberse a eventos puntuales de contaminación y se recomienda vigilar la bocatoma de agua y emitir alertas tempranas. El reporte sobre la presencia de cadmio en las muestras de pescado, sugiere que el control de la calidad de los alimentos por parte de las entidades reguladoras debe mejorar.

Introduction: Exposure to pollutants such as pesticides and heavy metals has been linked to health problems. Several studies have revealed the presence of these contaminants in Cali; however, there is no information available about the main routes of exposure and risk of these contaminants. Objective: To estimate the risk associated with the intake of cadmium, lead and mercury, and pesticides 2,4-D and diuron through the consumption of water and food in a population in Cali. Materials and methods: Population and environmental data were obtained, and a risk assessment was performed using United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Results: The concentrations of the evaluated pollutants were below permissible levels as established by the Colombian Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial (3 µg/L -1 of cadmium; 10 µg/L -1 of lead; 1 µg/L -1 of mercury; 1 µg/L -1 of 2,4 D; 1 µg/L -1 of diuron). Salema butterfish ( Peprilus snyderi ) samples contained levels of cadmium between 20 and 80 µg/kg -1 , which are below the permissible limit set by the World Health Organization (100 µg/kg -1 ). The results of the risk assessment indicated that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic attributable risk to population health from the intake of food contaminants was below the maximum level permitted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Conclusions: It is believed that the findings in previous studies on pollutants may have been due to specific contamination events; therefore, monitoring and early warning about water intake is recommended. Furthermore, the report of cadmium being found in fish consumed as food suggests the need for quality control by regulators.

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In the present study the occurrence of emerging hydrophobic organic pollutants in sediment samples from South America (Chile and Colombia) was investigated for the first time. Nineteen Chilean and thirteen Colombian sediment samples were analyzed in order to determine their content of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) (including PBDEs and emerging BFRs) as well as UV filters (UV-F). Samples were collected from neighboring aquatic ecosystems highly urbanized and industrialized in Colombia (Magdalena River area) and Chile (Biobio region). Different analytical procedures were applied depending on the selected analytes, based on chromatographic and mass spectrometric methodologies (GC-MS and LC-MS-MS). In general, concentration levels of both BFRs (up to 2.43 and 143ngg(-1) dw of PBDEs in Chile and Colombia, respectively) and UV-F (nd-2.96 and nd-54.4ngg(-1) dw in Chile and Colombia, respectively) were in the low range of published data, and the contribution of BFRs was higher than that of UV-F for almost all the sampled sediments.

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