Environmental arsenic contamination and its health effects in a historic gold mining area of the Mangalur greenstone belt of Northeastern Karnataka, India

Abstract

This report summarizes recent findings of environmental arsenic (As) contamination and the consequent health effects in a community located near historic gold mining activities in the Mangalur greenstone belt of Karnataka, India. Arsenic contents in water, hair, nail, soil and food were measured by FI-HG-AAS. Elemental analyses of soils were determined by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry). Of 59 tube-well water samples, 79% had As above 10 μg L−1 (maximum 303 μg L−1). Of 12 topsoil samples, six were found to contain As greater than 2000 mg kg−1 possibly indicating the impact of mine tailings on the area. All hair and nail samples collected from 171 residents contained elevated As. Arsenical skin lesions were observed among 58.6% of a total 181 screened individuals. Histopathological analysis of puncture biopsies of suspected arsenical dermatological symptoms confirmed the diagnosis in 3 out of 4 patients. Based on the time-course of arsenic-like symptoms reported by the community as well as the presence of overt arsenicosis, it is hypothesized that the primary route of exposure in the study area was via contaminated groundwater; however, the identified high As content in residential soil could also be a significant source of As exposure via ingestion. Additional studies are required to determine the extent as well as the relative contribution of geologic and anthropogenic factors in environmental As contamination in the region. This study report is to our knowledge one of the first to describe overt arsenicosis in this region of Karnataka, India as well as more broadly an area with underlying greenstone geology and historic mining activity.

Contaminants in surface water and sediments near the Tynagh silver mine site, County Galway, Ireland

“…3b) which is a common characteristic of a site where contaminant transport is driven by local climate and hydrology (Jung, 2001, Lim et al, 2008, Navarro et al, 2008, Romero et al, 2010, Hajalilou et al, 2011, Chakraborti et al, 2013, Antunes and Albuquerque, 2013and Silva et al, 2013. Metal distribution is dependent upon the form of the contaminant.…”

Effects of gold mining on the general population

“…This area also has several historic gold mines with some presently active and many abandoned. 7,9 In the current study 100 inhabitants of the village participated in the questionnaire survey of which majority were in the age group of 25-38 years. It was observed that 81% of the participants were aware of the gold mining in Hutti.…”

“…8 Finally, infants and children are sometimes directly exposed to the mining processes themselves, since mothers often have their children at the mine site and processing areas while they are working and sometime young children even participate in mining as workers. 9 Hence a questionnaire based survey was conducted amongst the local population of the Hatti village. The primary objective of this survey was to assess community risk knowledge and perception of potential Mercury and Arsenic toxicity and/or exposure from artisanal gold mining in the Hatti village locality.…”

Arsenic ecotoxicology: The interface between geosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere

“…Chakraborti et al [34] assessed the environmental (groundwater, soil and vegetables) and human biomarker As levels to determine health effects in a community level where arsenicosis cases were previously reported. Rahman et al [35] determined the quantity of As and other elements ingested through drinking water and vegetables by adult members in Noakhali district, Bangladesh for exposure assessments.…”