Blood lead levels in indigenous peoples living close to oil extraction areas in the Peruvian Amazon.

Background: High blood lead levels (BLLs) have been previously reported in indigenous people living in communities in the northern Peruvian Amazon. Oil extraction activities have been conducted in the area since the 1970s and have been identified as a source of lead exposure.

Objective: Measure BLL and assess risk factors associated with BLL among indigenous populations from four river basins of the northern Peruvian Amazon.

Oil extraction in the Amazon basin and exposure to metals in indigenous populations.

Most oil extraction areas in the Peruvian Amazon are within indigenous territories. Poor environmental practices have exposed the indigenous population to metals. We conducted a survey in two indigenous Kukama communities to assess body burdens of metals after the occurrence of two major oil spills in 2014.