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Adverse Health Effects of Mercury Use on Illegal Gold Miners: A Study in Garasi, Eritrea

Received: 24 February 2017     Accepted: 25 March 2017     Published: 13 April 2017
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Abstract

In recent years, an increase in the activities of illegal gold mining was seen in many provinces of Eritrea. One of such provinces is Garasi where this case study was done to determine its adverse effects on health of miners. This study was based on survey using questionnaire with personal interview of illegal miners at the site of their work. Using snowball sampling method, a total number of 50 miners were interviewed out of which two were females. The age of illegal miners was ranged from 11 to > 50 years with work experience of 5 to 8 years. Majority of the miners claimed that they use mercury in the process of amalgamation. Miners experienced many health complications i.e., cough, chest pain, weakness, stress, insomnia, excessive salivation etc. after exposure to mercury. For some miners it was found that the mercury exposure was as many as 20 times per year. Chronic exposure to mercury increases adverse effects to health, in this study two miners who had an experience of 12 years showed the associated symptoms of chronic exposure. Out of 50 illegal miners, 41 visited outreach health facility to seek relief from the symptoms in which 53.6 % reported that they did not get any relief from their symptoms. The most common diagnosis and treatment among the illegal miners was pneumonia. In conclusion the effects of this poisoning may increase with the coming years; this activity is relatively at its infancy stage, with an increase in the associated damage in human health, animal life and the environment. Health sectors need to launch awareness campaigns aimed at educating miners about the dangers of mercury to health. And to seek alternative methods before the damage to health and other environmental damage escalates.

Published in Advances in Biochemistry (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11
Page(s) 16-21
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Illegal Gold Mining, Illegal Gold Miners, Mercury Poisoning, Eritrea

References
[1] Petralia J. F. Gold! Gold! A beginner’s handbook and recreational guide: how and where to prospect for gold! San Francisco, CA: Sierra Outdoor Products Company; 1996 P.O. Box 2497.
[2] Merchant B. Gold, the noble metal and the paradoxes of its toxicology, 1998 Biologicals 26, p. 49–59.
[3] Anikin A. V. Gold – The yellow devil. International Publishers; 1983 p. 244.
[4] Ronald eisler. Health risks of gold miners: a synoptic review. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 25: Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2003. p. 325-345.
[5] Sam Gogan. Beyond deforestation: illegal gold mining and human health March 19, 2016 / public policy peru.
[6] The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. Organized crime and illegally mined gold in Latin America. April 2016. www.GlobalInitiative.net
[7] Greer, J. The price of gold: environmental costs of the new gold rush, The Ecologist 23(3); 1993 p. 91–96.
[8] Swenson, Jennifer J, et al. Gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon: global prices, deforestation, and mercury imports. April 11, 2011. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0018875#pone.0018875-Veiga1
[9] Human Rights Watch (HRW). Toxic toil: Child labor and mercury exposure in Tanzania’s small-scale gold mines. August 2013. http://www.hrw.org/node/118031/
[10] International Labor Organization (ILO): Peligros, Riesgos y Daños a La Salud de Los Niños y Niñas que Trabajan en la Minería Artesanal.Organización InternacionaldelTrabajo.2005.http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/cartilla_riesgos_min.pdf
[11] Beyond deforestation: illegal gold mining and human health. University of Maryland School of Public Policy in Peru. March 2016.
[12] Jernelov A, Ramel C. Mercury in the environment. Ambio 1994 23: 166.
[13] Nopriadi, Saam, Z, Amiruddin, R, Afandi, D. The influence of illegal gold mining activities toward health of workers in Kuantan Singingi, Indonesia. International Journal of Science and Research August 2015 4(8).
[14] Human Rights Watch (HRW). A poisonous mix: child labor, mercury, and artisanal gold mining in Mali. 2011http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mali1211_forinsertWebUpload_0.pdf
[15] Human Rights Watch (HRW). Mali: artisanal mines produce gold with child labor. December 6, 2011. http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/06/mali-artisanal-mines-produce-gold-child-labor
[16] Eisler, R. Health risks of gold miners: a synoptic review. 2002.
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  • APA Style

    Milkias Haile, Omer Hussein, Yohana Haile. (2017). Adverse Health Effects of Mercury Use on Illegal Gold Miners: A Study in Garasi, Eritrea. Advances in Biochemistry, 5(2), 16-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11

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    ACS Style

    Milkias Haile; Omer Hussein; Yohana Haile. Adverse Health Effects of Mercury Use on Illegal Gold Miners: A Study in Garasi, Eritrea. Adv. Biochem. 2017, 5(2), 16-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11

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    AMA Style

    Milkias Haile, Omer Hussein, Yohana Haile. Adverse Health Effects of Mercury Use on Illegal Gold Miners: A Study in Garasi, Eritrea. Adv Biochem. 2017;5(2):16-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11,
      author = {Milkias Haile and Omer Hussein and Yohana Haile},
      title = {Adverse Health Effects of Mercury Use on Illegal Gold Miners: A Study in Garasi, Eritrea},
      journal = {Advances in Biochemistry},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-21},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ab.20170502.11},
      abstract = {In recent years, an increase in the activities of illegal gold mining was seen in many provinces of Eritrea. One of such provinces is Garasi where this case study was done to determine its adverse effects on health of miners. This study was based on survey using questionnaire with personal interview of illegal miners at the site of their work. Using snowball sampling method, a total number of 50 miners were interviewed out of which two were females. The age of illegal miners was ranged from 11 to > 50 years with work experience of 5 to 8 years. Majority of the miners claimed that they use mercury in the process of amalgamation. Miners experienced many health complications i.e., cough, chest pain, weakness, stress, insomnia, excessive salivation etc. after exposure to mercury. For some miners it was found that the mercury exposure was as many as 20 times per year. Chronic exposure to mercury increases adverse effects to health, in this study two miners who had an experience of 12 years showed the associated symptoms of chronic exposure. Out of 50 illegal miners, 41 visited outreach health facility to seek relief from the symptoms in which 53.6 % reported that they did not get any relief from their symptoms. The most common diagnosis and treatment among the illegal miners was pneumonia. In conclusion the effects of this poisoning may increase with the coming years; this activity is relatively at its infancy stage, with an increase in the associated damage in human health, animal life and the environment. Health sectors need to launch awareness campaigns aimed at educating miners about the dangers of mercury to health. And to seek alternative methods before the damage to health and other environmental damage escalates.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AU  - Milkias Haile
    AU  - Omer Hussein
    AU  - Yohana Haile
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    T2  - Advances in Biochemistry
    JF  - Advances in Biochemistry
    JO  - Advances in Biochemistry
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ab.20170502.11
    AB  - In recent years, an increase in the activities of illegal gold mining was seen in many provinces of Eritrea. One of such provinces is Garasi where this case study was done to determine its adverse effects on health of miners. This study was based on survey using questionnaire with personal interview of illegal miners at the site of their work. Using snowball sampling method, a total number of 50 miners were interviewed out of which two were females. The age of illegal miners was ranged from 11 to > 50 years with work experience of 5 to 8 years. Majority of the miners claimed that they use mercury in the process of amalgamation. Miners experienced many health complications i.e., cough, chest pain, weakness, stress, insomnia, excessive salivation etc. after exposure to mercury. For some miners it was found that the mercury exposure was as many as 20 times per year. Chronic exposure to mercury increases adverse effects to health, in this study two miners who had an experience of 12 years showed the associated symptoms of chronic exposure. Out of 50 illegal miners, 41 visited outreach health facility to seek relief from the symptoms in which 53.6 % reported that they did not get any relief from their symptoms. The most common diagnosis and treatment among the illegal miners was pneumonia. In conclusion the effects of this poisoning may increase with the coming years; this activity is relatively at its infancy stage, with an increase in the associated damage in human health, animal life and the environment. Health sectors need to launch awareness campaigns aimed at educating miners about the dangers of mercury to health. And to seek alternative methods before the damage to health and other environmental damage escalates.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Pharmacy, Halibet National Referral Hospital, Asmara, Eritrea

  • Department of Pharmacy, Azel Pharmaceuticals, Keren, Eritrea

  • Department of Pharmacy, Halibet National Referral Hospital, Asmara, Eritrea

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