Gold Mining in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Mercury in Urine and Medical Symptoms in Miners from Portovelo/Zaruma

Schutzmeier, Paul; Berger, Ursula; Blüml, Stephan

doi:10.3390/ijerph14010034

Cited by 17 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…For Cd in urine, the studies from Ghana, Spain and Guatemala showed very similar results [23,46,47]. The levels of Hg in urine found in our study are comparable to what has been found in other ASGM areas with known Hg use [48][49][50][51][52]. In areas without known or recent use of Hg for gold extraction, urinary Hg levels were considerably lower [45][46][47].…”

Section: 2supporting

confidence: 87%

Exposure to Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) in Two Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Areas in Zimbabwe

Rakete¹,

Moonga²,

Wahl³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: People living and working in ASGM areas are exposed to toxic metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb). Whereas Hg is purposely used to extract the gold from the ore, the other toxic metals can be liberated from the ore during the mining process. These metals can contaminate drinking water and food and are thus, a source of exposure for people living in these mining areas. However, there is limited to no data about the exposure to toxic metals of people living in ASGM areas. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct biomonitoring of people identifying themselves as artisanal gold miners. Methods: Blood and urine were collected from 207 people living and working in two ASGM areas in Zimbabwe. Hg in whole blood and urine was analyzed by direct mercury analysis, Pb in blood as well as As and Cd in urine were analyzed by GF-AAS. The results were evaluated by descriptive analysis and correlated with the location, age, fish consumption, years living and working in the area. Results: Median As level in urine was 10.0 µg/l (range from below limit of detection to 460 µg/l). Median Cd level in urine was 0.3 µg/l (range from below limit of detection to 11.4 µg/l). Median Hg levels in blood / urine were 2.7 / 5.2 µg/l (range from 0.2 to 167 µg/l / 0.1 to 612 µg/l). Median Pb level in blood was 19.9 µg/l (range from 6.6 to 276 µg/l). As expected, the Hg levels were frequently above international reference values (e. g. NHANES, blood: 34%, urine: 69%). For Pb and Cd, a considerable number of participants (32% and 22% respectively) were above the reference values (NHANES / National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) and for As 33% of the participants were above the reference value (UBA/ German Environment Agency). Conclusions: Hg levels were, as expected in ASGM areas, mainly above reference and threshold values. A high proportion of As, Cd and Pb levels were also above reference levels. Therefore, the exposure to toxic metals in the two ASGM areas in Zimbabwe is relevant for public health.

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Section: 2supporting

confidence: 87%

Exposure to Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) in Two Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Areas in Zimbabwe

Rakete¹,

Moonga²,

Wahl³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…In addition, the gold industry has caused environmental and health problems for decades to miners and mining communities. 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].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2019

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In this paper, we present an analysis of the mining process of two popular assets, Bitcoin and gold. The analysis highlights that Bitcoin, more specifically its underlying technology, is a “safe haven” that allows facing the modern environmental challenges better than gold. Our analysis emphasizes that crypto-currencies systems have a social and economic impact much smaller than that of the traditional financial systems. We present an analysis of the several stages needed to produce an ounce of gold and an artificial agent-based market model simulating the Bitcoin mining process and allowing the quantification of Bitcoin mining costs. In this market model, miners validate the Bitcoin transactions using the proof of work as the consensus mechanism, get a reward in Bitcoins, sell a fraction of them to cover their expenses, and stay competitive in the market by buying and divesting hardware units and adjusting their expenses by turning off/on their machines according to the signals provided by a technical analysis indicator, the so-called relative strength index.

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“…Some have been exploited for many decades or even centuries by ASGM. Well-known ASGM areas in Ecuador are Nambija, Zaruma-Portovelo and Ponce-Enríquez [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Other major deposits have been recently discovered and due to their characteristics need more industrialized exploitation techniques.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artisanal and Small Gold Mining and Petroleum Production as Potential Sources of Heavy Metal Contamination in Ecuador: A Call to Action

Beate

Diaz

Ochoa

2021

IJERPH

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Mining and petroleum production are the source of many elements and base materials fundamental for our modern way of life. The flip side of these keystone industries is the environmental degradation they can cause if not properly managed. Metallic mining and petroleum production can contaminate the local ecosystem with sediments, chemicals used in the industrial processes and heavy metals, part of the metallic ore or oil reservoir. The objective of this project was to analyze the spatial distribution of the presence of different potentially hazardous elements that make up the metallic deposits and oil reservoirs in Ecuador, focused mainly on artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) districts. Additionally, we were interested in analyzing this information under the local political and administrative contexts which are key to determining how likely it is that mismanagement of the local mineral deposits and petroleum exploitation projects will end up causing environmental degradation. An extensive and intensive literature search was conducted for information on the presence and concentration of 19 potentially harmful elements. We analyzed data on 11 metallic deposits throughout Ecuador and a major oilfield in the Ecuadorian Amazon basin. We used geographic information systems to analyze the spatial distribution of these reservoirs and their mineral compositions. The results indicated a widespread distribution and high concentration of elements potentially harmful for human health, such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic, throughout the metallic deposits in Ecuador. This is particularly true for long-exploited ASGM districts, such as Ponce-Enríquez, Portovelo-Zaruma and Nambija. This study highlights the importance of understanding geological diversity and its potential risks to better protect the biological diversity and public health of its inhabitants. Furthermore, we consider our work not as a call to stop ASGM mining nor petroleum production, but on the contrary as a strong call to plan every mining and petroleum production project considering these risks. Moreover, our work is a call to action by the local government and authorities to stop corruption and fulfill their duties overseeing the activities of mining and petroleum companies, stopping illegal mining, helping ASGM communities to improve their environmental standards, finding alternative income sources and protecting the local environment.

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Gold Mining in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Mercury in Urine and Medical Symptoms in Miners from Portovelo/Zaruma

Cited by 17 publications

References 29 publications

Exposure to Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) in Two Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Areas in Zimbabwe

Exposure to Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) in Two Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Areas in Zimbabwe

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

Artisanal and Small Gold Mining and Petroleum Production as Potential Sources of Heavy Metal Contamination in Ecuador: A Call to Action

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