Water quality trends in the Tarkwa gold-mining district, Ghana

Kuma, Jerry S.; Younger, Paul L.

doi:10.1007/s10064-004-0227-8

Cited by 22 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Previous studies show maximum levels in groundwater to be 0.003 mg/L (Kortatsi, 2004;Armah et al, 2010) and 0.06 mg/L (Oluwasanya and Martins, 2006). Maximum levels in surface water were less than 0.05 mg/L (Kuma and Younger, 2004;Yem et al, 2013). The observed cadmium values show that water quality in the study area is questionable and unfit for human consumption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…As a practical measure, the guideline is set as 0.05 mg/L, which is considered to be unlikely to give rise to significant risks to health (WHO, 2004). Maximum levels in groundwater has been shown to be 0.07 mg/L (Kortatsi, 2004;Marcovecchio et al, 2007) and 0.06 mg/L (Oluwasanya and Martins, 2006) and in surface water to be 0.49 mg/L (Kuma andYounger, 2004, Marcovecchio et al, 2007). The observed elevated chromium concentrations represent an identified hazard, which calls for necessary control measures to mitigate consequent health impacts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Pb values in this study revealed clear excedeencies relative to the permissible limit of 0.001 mg/L set by the WHO. Previous studies also show maximum levels in groundwater to be 0.03 mg/L (Kortatsi, 2004 and in surface water to be <0.05 mg/L (Kuma and Younger, 2004;Yem et al, 2013). A provisional tolerable daily intake is set as 3.5 µg of lead per kg of body weight for infants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gold Mining in Igun Ijesha, Southwest Nigeria: Impacts and Implications for Water Quality

Ayantobo

Awomeso

Oluwasanya

et al. 2014

American Journal of Environmental Sciences

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This study was carried out in Igun-Ijesha, Osun State, Nigeria to determine the likely hotspots of water contamination for future treatment trials. Water quality analyses were based on physico-chemical and heavy metal parameters of surface and ground water collected from the study community. A total of thirty-eight water samples were collected between September 2012 and February 2013 and analyzed using standard procedures. Concentrations of heavy metals were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Results showed that water samples within the gold mining community are contaminated and the hydrochemistry varied with seasons. The values of magnesium, turbidity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and pH during the period of sampling ranged 3.1-42.1 mg/L, 0-150 NTU, 30-560 mg/L, 80-1192 µS/cm and 5.95-8.55 respectively. Chloride, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate and sodium data were within the stipulated limits set by the Nigerian Standards for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ). Heavy metal contents of the groundwater were generally higher than those from surface water sampled within the mining district. The values of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc, ranged from 0.01-1.20, 0.05-0.52, 0. 80-34.80, 0.09-4.30, 0.09-8.30, 0.05-3.94, 0.05-19.6 and 1.80-29.90 mg/L respectively. Most of the listed metals have values exceeding the international and national recommended limits. The daily intake of water in the study area poses a potential health threat from long-term exposure to heavy-metals. The study suggests that water safety plans should be developed to safeguard water resource and public health within the mining community.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gold Mining in Igun Ijesha, Southwest Nigeria: Impacts and Implications for Water Quality

Ayantobo

Awomeso

Oluwasanya

et al. 2014

American Journal of Environmental Sciences

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“…In all the three mining concessions, villagers inside concessions had lost their water resources and now depended on (sometimes contaminated) boreholes or (often unreliable) water supplies by the mining enterprises. For example, approximately 40% of the groundwater resources in the Tarkwa concession were lost due to mining (Kuma and Younger 2004). The rapid expansion of surface mining we found (Fig.…”

Section: Conditions After Compensationmentioning

confidence: 90%

Impacts of Surface Gold Mining on Land Use Systems in Western Ghana

Schueler

Kuemmerle

Schröder

2011

AMBIO

203

117

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Land use conflicts are becoming increasingly apparent from local to global scales. Surface gold mining is an extreme source of such a conflict, but mining impacts on local livelihoods often remain unclear. Our goal here was to assess land cover change due to gold surface mining in Western Ghana, one of the world's leading gold mining regions, and to study how these changes affected land use systems. We used Landsat satellite images from 1986-2002 to map land cover change and field interviews with farmers to understand the livelihood implications of mining-related land cover change. Our results showed that surface mining resulted in deforestation (58%), a substantial loss of farmland (45%) within mining concessions, and widespread spill-over effects as relocated farmers expand farmland into forests. This points to rapidly eroding livelihood foundations, suggesting that the environmental and social costs of Ghana's gold boom may be much higher than previously thought.

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“…In this area, artisanal goldmining is extensive and three of the largest surface mine concessions in Ghana that is Bogoso-Prestea, Tarkwa, and Damang are sited here (Armah et al, 2016). According to Kuma and Younger (2004), the study location forms part of an important gold belt of Ghana, which originates from Konongo to the northeast through Tarkwa to Axim in the southwest. It is therefore unsurprising that mining is the main industrial activity in the area.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsafe Occupational Health Behaviors: Understanding Mercury-Related Environmental Health Risks to Artisanal Gold Miners in Ghana

Armah

Boamah

Quansah

et al. 2016

Front. Environ. Sci.

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without any previous occupational health problems (OR = 4.86, p < 0.0001). Although artisanal gold miners who are 25-34 years old were more likely to know than their counterparts who are 18-24 years old, there were no differences in knowledge between those who are 35 years or older and their counterparts who are 18-24 years old. These results emphasize the complex relationships between compositional, contextual and occupational factors on the one hand, and artisanal gold miners' knowledge of environmental and health effects of Hg, on the other hand. Some policy implications of the findings suggest that a more systematic approach to the development and evaluation of interventions to phase out Hg use in artisanal gold mining is desirable, with clearer recognition of the interrelationships between compositional factors of artisanal gold miners and their persistent reliance on Hg in the gold extraction process.

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Water quality trends in the Tarkwa gold-mining district, Ghana

Cited by 22 publications

References 10 publications

Gold Mining in Igun Ijesha, Southwest Nigeria: Impacts and Implications for Water Quality

Gold Mining in Igun Ijesha, Southwest Nigeria: Impacts and Implications for Water Quality

Impacts of Surface Gold Mining on Land Use Systems in Western Ghana

Unsafe Occupational Health Behaviors: Understanding Mercury-Related Environmental Health Risks to Artisanal Gold Miners in Ghana

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