Occupational exposure to airborne mercury during gold mining operations near El Callao, Venezuela

Drake, Pamela L.; Rojas, Maritza; Reh, C.M.; Mueller, Charles; Jenkins, F M

doi:10.1007/s004200000206

Cited by 71 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Similarly to previous studies [6,8,12,17], we found that participants who heated gold-mercury amalgams had elevated urine mercury concentrations compared with those who did not heat amalgams. This corresponds to what is known about mercury uptake in humans; very little elemental mercury is absorbed following dermal contact or ingestion while approximately 80 % of elemental mercury vapors that are inhaled are absorbed [23].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Thus, anyone who happens to be nearby can be exposed to mercury vapors when amalgams are heated. Given their potential to disperse mercury vapors throughout a wide area [12,17], it is likely that mercury inhalation via amalgam heating is the primary mercury exposure pathway in most Amazonian artisanal mining communities. Surprisingly, we found that urine total mercury and blood methylmercury concentrations were elevated in participants who drank water from wells, springs, and other nonpublic systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research found elevated mercury exposure among residents of artisanal mining communities throughout Asia [6,7], Africa [8,9], and South America [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The Peruvian Amazon is a growing hotbed for artisanal mining, and there is growing concern over the extensive environmental mercury contamination that is occurring here [18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Exposure Among Artisanal Gold Miners in Madre de Dios, Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

et al. 2012

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Introduction Exposure to mercury, a toxic metal, occurs primarily from inhaling mercury vapors or consuming methylmercury-contaminated fish. One third of all anthropogenic mercury emissions worldwide are from artisanal gold mining, which uses mercury to extract gold. Although recent reports suggest that the Madre de Dios region in Peru (with >30,000 artisanal miners) has extensive mercury contamination, residents had never been assessed for mercury exposure. Thus, our objective was to quantify mercury exposure among residents of an artisanal mining town in Madre de Dios and to assess risk factors for exposure. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of 103 residents of an artisanal gold mining town in July 2010. Each participant provided a urine and blood sample and completed a questionnaire assessing potential exposures and health outcomes. We calculated geometric mean (GM) urine total mercury and blood methylmercury concentrations and compared log-transformed concentrations between subgroups using linear regression.Results One third (34.0 %) of participants were gold miners. All participants had detectable urine total mercury (GM, 5.5 μg/g creatinine; range, 0.7-151 μg/g creatinine) and 91 % had detectable blood methylmercury (GM, 2.7 μg/L; range, 0.6-10 μg/L); 13 participants (13 %) reported having kidney dysfunction or a neurological disorder. Urine total mercury concentrations were higher among people who heated gold-mercury amalgams compared with people who never heated amalgams (p<0.05); methylmercury concentrations were higher among fish consumers compared with nonfish consumers (p<0.05). Conclusion Our findings suggest that mercury exposure may be widespread in Huaypetue.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury Exposure Among Artisanal Gold Miners in Madre de Dios, Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

et al. 2012

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“…Allthough Hg mining has been officially banned by local authorities in the province, some people continue to work illegally in the mercury (Hg) mine. These Hg mine workers are at a high risk of exposure to elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) vapor, particularly those engaged in smelting among the miners (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Moreover, such Hg mining operations is one of the primary source of environmental Hg pollution (2,4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High exposure of Chinese mercury mine workers to elemental mercury vapor and increased methylmercury levels in their hair

Sakamoto

Feng

et al. 2007

Environ Health Prev Med

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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the level of exposure of mercury (Hg) miners and smelter workers to elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) vapor in China, who work in Hg mines without using protective equipment against Hg 0 vapor. In addition, the level of methylmercury (MeHg) intake by the workers was estimated from the MeHg concentration in their hair.Methods: Urinary total mercury (THg) and hair THg and MeHg concentrations were measured in 26 Hg miners and smelter workers (i.e., exposed group), and 48 unexposed people (unexposed group).Results: The exposed group showed high geometric mean THg concentrations in urine (258 ng/ml, 226 μg/g creatinine) and hair (20.0 μg/g). The urinary THg concentration of the smelter workers in particular was extremely high (338 μg/g creatinine in urine). The highest urine THg concentration reached 4577 μg/g creatinine. THg concentrations in urine and hair showed a significant correlation in the exposed group (r=0.62), indicating the adhesion of Hg 0 vapor to hair. However, no such significant correlation was found in the unexposed group. Hair MeHg concentration in the exposed group (1.97 μg/g) was about threefold higher than that in the unexposed group (0.60 μg/g).Conclusions: This study shows that smelter workers in a Chinese Hg mine are exposed to extremely high levels of Hg 0 vapor, and that Hg miners are exposed to higher levels of MeHg than the unexposed subjects. Further study is needed to determine the cause of the higher hair MeHg concentration in the exposed group.

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“…2,3 Mercury, being an active constituent of the Gold mining industry dates back to the 16 th century. Mercury is used in amalgamation and concentration of gold and thus is a major source of contamination in developing countries (Rojas et al 2001). 4 The release of mercury in the biosphere is said to have exceeded 260,000 tons between the year 1550 and 1930, brought about due to gold mining procedures (Lacerda 1997) 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of gold mining on the general population

Hegde¹,

Varun²,

Momeka³

et al. 2017

Int J Recent Sci Res

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ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACTHutti, one of the three functioning gold mines in India, is located in Raichur District of Karnataka. Mercury and arsenic, being active constituents of the Gold mining industry are known toxicants that are hazardous to humans, wildlife and domestic animals and may accumulate in the environment causing serious damage to ecosystems and human health. Hence a questionnaire based survey was conducted amongst the local population of the Hatti village. Most of the people who participated in the survey were aware of the ill effects of mining. In growing age these signs and symptoms are more pronounced than elders. Some of the most common health problems noticed were dark brown pigmentation of the skin (47%), loose stool, breathing difficulties and fatigue. Female population reported 3% abortions and miscarriages. The poor accessibility and unavailability of health care centers was the main reason for the increased incidence of health issues.

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Occupational exposure to airborne mercury during gold mining operations near El Callao, Venezuela

Cited by 71 publications

References 18 publications

Mercury Exposure Among Artisanal Gold Miners in Madre de Dios, Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

Mercury Exposure Among Artisanal Gold Miners in Madre de Dios, Peru: A Cross-sectional Study

High exposure of Chinese mercury mine workers to elemental mercury vapor and increased methylmercury levels in their hair

Effects of gold mining on the general population

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