Mercury Exposure Assessment and Spatial Distribution in A Ghanaian Small-Scale Gold Mining Community

Abstract

Mercury is utilized worldwide in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and may pose a risk for miners and mining communities. While a number of studies have characterized mercury in ASGM communities, most have focused on a single media and few have taken a holistic approach. Here, a multiple media exposure assessment and cross-sectional study of mercury was conducted in 2010 through 2012 in northeast Ghana with a small-scale gold mining community, Kejetia, a subsistence farming community, Gorogo, and an urban ASGM gold refinery in Bolgatanga. The objective was to assess mercury in a range of human (urine and hair) and ecological (household soil, sediment, fish, and ore) samples to increase understanding of mercury exposure pathways. All participants were interviewed on demographics, occupational and medical histories, and household characteristics. Participants included 90 women of childbearing age and 97 adults from Kejetia and 75 adults from Gorogo. Median total specific gravity-adjusted urinary, hair, and household soil mercury were significantly higher in Kejetia miners (5.18 µg/L, 0.967 µg/g, and 3.77 µg/g, respectively) than Kejetia non-miners (1.18 µg/L, 0.419 µg/g, and 2.00 µg/g, respectively) and Gorogo participants (0.154 µg/L, 0.181 µg/g, and 0.039 µg/g) in 2011. Sediment, fish, and ore Hg concentrations were below guideline values. Median soil mercury from the Bolgatanga refinery was very high (54.6 µg/g). Estimated mean mercury ingestion for Kejetia adults from soil and dust exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reference dose (0.3 µg Hg/kg·day) for pica (0.409 µg Hg/kg·day) and geophagy (20.5 µg Hg/kg·day) scenarios. Most participants with elevated urinary and household soil mercury were miners, but some non-miners approached and exceeded guideline values, suggesting a health risk for non-mining residents living within these communities.

An Agent Based Model to Analyze the Bitcoin Mining Activity and a Comparison with the Gold Mining Industry

“…For example, there is an increasing concern for the health of miners and mining communities related to the mercury exposure, a toxic metal used in small-scale gold mining, and for the ecosystems' degradation due to mining land use [8,9]. Therefore, looking at the total mining costs, such as production costs, economic costs, environmental costs, and social costs, of these two assets or "safe havens", probably a wide spread of Bitcoin could allow us to better address the environmental aspects of sustainability and to have substantially higher savings than gold [8][9][10][11][12].…”

Pulmonary function and respiratory health of rural farmers and artisanal and small scale gold miners in Ghana

“…Within the country ASGM accounts for 10.5% of Ghana’s national gold production and employs between 500,000 and 1 million people mostly in rural areas (Basu, 2015b). Since 2009, our research team has conducted field studies to examine associations between a range of exposures and health outcomes in ASGM communities in the Talensi-Nabdam District of Ghana’s Upper East Region (Paruchuri et al, 2010; Basu et al, 2011; Renne et al, 2011, Long et al 2015, Long et al 2013, Rajaee et al 2015b, Rajaee et al 2015c). To increase understanding of potential respiratory health effects in ASGM communities, here we conducted a comparative study in the Talensi-Nabdam District of Ghana to compare exposure-outcome relationships between an ASGM community and a non-mining, subsistence farming community, and also focus on two main a priori areas of concern for potential adverse respiratory effects to workers and the surrounding community: 1) inhalational exposure to dust and potentially crystalline silica that may be present in gold ore, which is directly associated with the mining process; and 2) the use of biomass fuels for cooking, associated with the general living conditions of such communities.…”

An Ecological and Human Biomonitoring Investigation of Mercury Contamination at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation

“…One site on Reserve (Site #2, Talfourd Creek) seems to be a mercury hotspot and was found to contain mercury concentrations that exceeded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration benchmark levels for the protection of ecological receptors in both the stream sediment and nearby soil samples (Buchman, 2008). Talfourd Creek has always been a site of concern in terms of contamination, and further monitoring of this stream should be performed at regular intervals especially since mercury exposure in soil may be realized via direct ingestion (geophagy), hand-to-mouth contact, and from soil on skin, clothing, and food (Rajaee et al, 2015). .…”