Dried blood spots to characterize mercury speciation and exposure in a Colombian artisanal and small-scale gold mining community

Water scarcity, quality, and control are growing problems worldwide. In this paper, values associated with water—sociocultural, economic, and chemical—in a small-scale gold mining community in northeastern Ghana are considered. Mining activities have affected the quality of locally scarce water resources. In an area without government provision of water, this situation has also forced community members to develop innovative water strategies that reflect the ways that water is understood and valued with regard to personal health and the environment as well as to the seasonality of water acquisition. These community evaluations of water in the gold mining community are then compared with the chemical analysis of water samples collected near the gold mining site. The ways in which these evaluations of water quality—based on particular knowledge systems—coincide and differ suggest the need for community participation in environmental and health assessment as well as government oversight and water provision. An examination of the connections between gold mining, water, and health; work and gender; and cultural and chemical assessments of water quality situates this particular water world within larger global concerns about small-scale gold mining, the roles of mining communities and government, and water sustainability.

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Mercury Speciation in Whole Blood and Dried Blood Spots from Capillary and Venous Sources

Analytical Chemistry ◽

10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04407 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 92 (5) ◽

pp. 3605-3612 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrea Santa-Rios ◽

Benjamin D. Barst ◽

Niladri Basu

Keyword(s):

Whole Blood ◽

Dried Blood Spots ◽

Mercury Speciation ◽

Blood Spots

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Pilot Assessment of Hazards and Health Effects in a Small-Scale Artisanal Gold Mining Community in Ghana

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isee.2014.p1-090 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 (1) ◽

pp. 1444

Author(s):

Richard Neitzel* ◽

Allyson Green ◽

Mozhgon Rajaee ◽

Rachel Long ◽

Stephanie Sayler

Keyword(s):

Health Effects ◽

Gold Mining ◽

Small Scale ◽

Artisanal Gold Mining ◽

Mining Community

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1057 Mercury exposure and related health problems among artisanal and small scale gold mining community in chunya district tanzania

10.1136/oemed-2018-icohabstracts.683 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Simon Mamuya ◽

Stanford Mwakitwange

Keyword(s):

Gold Mining ◽

Health Problems ◽

Mercury Exposure ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mining Community

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Genetic Polymorphisms in Multispecific Transporters Mitigate Mercury Nephrotoxicity in an Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Community in Colombia

Toxicological Sciences ◽

10.1093/toxsci/kfaa142 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 178 (2) ◽

pp. 338-346

Author(s):

Luz Helena Sánchez Rodríguez ◽

Olga Marcela Medina Pérez ◽

Fernando Rondón González ◽

Giovanna Rincón Cruz ◽

Linda Rocha Muñoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gold Mining ◽

Genetic Selection ◽

Small Scale ◽

Proximal Tubule Cell ◽

Mining Community ◽

Cell Accumulation ◽

Genes Encoding ◽

Occupationally Exposed ◽

Beta 2 Microglobulin ◽

Occupational Exposure To Mercury

Abstract In artisanal and small-scale gold mining, occupational exposure to mercury (Hg) vapor is related to harmful effects on several organs, including the kidneys. We previously reported significantly increased levels of Hg in blood and urine despite normal kidney function in individuals from Colombia occupationally exposed to Hg compared with those nonexposed. We evaluated the contribution of 4 genetic variants in key genes encoding the transporters solute carrier (SLC; rs4149170 and rs4149182) and ATP-binding cassette(ABC; rs1202169 and rs1885301) in the pathogenesis of nephrotoxicity due to Hg exposure in these groups. Regression analysis was performed to determine the association between the blood- and urine-Hg concentration with SLC and ABC polymorphisms in 281 Colombian individuals (160 exposed and 121 nonexposed to Hg). We found an enrichment of ABCB1 rs1202169-T allele in the exposed group (p = .011; OR= 2.05; 95% CI = 1.18–3.58) compared with the nonexposure group. We also found that carriers of SLC22A8 rs4149182-G and ABCB1 rs1202169-T alleles had a higher urinary clearance rate of Hg than noncarriers (β = 0.13, p = .04), whereas carriers of SLC22A6 rs4149170-A and ABCB1 rs1202169-C alleles showed abnormal levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate (β = −84.96, p = .040) and beta-2-microglobulin (β = 743.38, p < .001). Our results suggest that ABCB1 rs1202169 and its interaction with SLC22A8 rs4149182 and SLC22A6 rs4149170 could mitigate Hg nephrotoxicity by controlling the renal proximal tubule cell accumulation of inorganic Hg. This will be useful to estimate the risk of kidney toxicity associated to Hg and the genetic selection to aid adaptation to Hg-rich environments.

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