Extensive studies have showed that alluvial gold mining is a predisposing factor for mercury toxicity through occupational exposure. In our systematic review of related literature, we aim to determine if children of alluvial gold miners were at risk of exposure to methyl mercury toxicity through dietary exposure. This was achieved through applying Cochrane PICO methodology for the research question. We selected only the most relevant articles from the thousands of articles that were generated by the Divine Word University (DWU) electronic data base system for our review. Further screening questions were applied based on the CASP method which filtered remaining 105 to only 9 papers for the review. The results from the nine (N = 9) studies analysed showed convincing results of the association between consumption of fish contaminated with methyl mercury and poor growth and development in children whose parents lived near mining sites. We conclude that since mercury is the predominant element used in the extraction of gold in alluvial mining, it is an exposure pathway for methyl mercury toxicity for children through dietary exposure.

This systemic literature review was conducted to find out if there was an association between exposure to TiO 2 NP (Titanium dioxide nanoparticle) and occupational lung cancer among TiO 2 production workers. An electronic database search was employed which generated several studies relating to TiO 2 nanoparticle toxicity. From these studies only ten (10) articles were chosen for this study because they met the review criteria. Two articles were centered around cohort study design while other 8 studies were on experimental design. The two cohort studies did answer the review question that showed no association of TiO 2 toxicity and respiratory diseases while the experimental design studies produced conflicting results. The conflicting results were attributed to their objective, sample size, and the study designs. Despite the different conclusions there is adequate evidence in the experimental studies that demonstrated evidence of TiO 2 nanoparticle toxicity. Notable cases include cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, apoptotic and cell necrosis in rat and human cells exposed to TiO 2 which is generally dose response related. The strengths and limitations of the 10 studies are also discussed. General understanding gained from these studies is for appropriate agencies to be proactive in developing mitigation and controls measures against nanoparticle exposure. This is necessary to avert repetition of previous experiences with exposure to asbestos fibers as a point of reference.