The Mt. Diwata study on the Philippines 1999 — assessing mercury intoxication of the population by small scale gold mining

Background. The amalgamation method used by artisanal small-scale miners is the single largest source of global mercury emission. The goal of the ‘Free Your Mine’ project is to stop mercury use in artisanal and small-scale mining. Objectives. The aim of the present study was to compare gold recovery and time consumption between the amalgamation method and direct smelting, using borax for smelting under standardized conditions. Materials and Methods. This was an experimental study in a pragmatic setting in the mining community of Tiira, Uganda. Standardized amounts of gold ore of equal quality were processed with the local amalgamation method and with the Philippine mercury-free method as practiced by miners from Benguet in the Philippines, and the gold yield and time consumption were compared. Results. The amalgamation method took 53 minutes and recovered 1.0 g of pure gold. The miners used 4 g of mercury in the processing. The Philippine mercury-free method took 62 minutes and recovered 1.4 g of pure gold. Conclusions. The Philippine mercury-free method recovered 40% more gold than the amalgamation method but took 9 minutes longer. The Philippine mercury-free method is a viable alternative to amalgamation. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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11. Prospects and Problems: Small-Scale Gold Mining in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines

Mining on a Small and Medium Scale ◽

10.3362/9781780445489.011 ◽

1997 ◽

pp. 171-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Don Stewart

Keyword(s):

Papua New Guinea ◽

Gold Mining ◽

New Guinea ◽

The Philippines ◽

Small Scale

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Development of a Risk Assessment Tool for Small Scale Gold Mining in the Philippines

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing - Advances in Safety Management and Human Factors ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-60525-8_38 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 369-374

Author(s):

Virginia Soriano ◽

Isachar Bernaldez ◽

Mili-Ann Tamayao

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Gold Mining ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

The Philippines ◽

Risk Assessment Tool ◽

Small Scale

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Penyakit Parkinson Akibat Merkuri pada Pekerja Penambangan Emas Skala Kecil

CoMPHI Journal: Community Medicine and Public Health of Indonesia Journal ◽

10.37148/comphijournal.v2i1.31 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 170-176

Author(s):

Alif Maulida Habibia ◽

Ferry Yundiarto ◽

Hen Sania ◽

Karimah Permata Arinda Putri ◽

Wia Bunga Ramadhan

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Substantia Nigra ◽

Gold Mining ◽

Neuronal Damage ◽

Mercury Exposure ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mercury Intoxication ◽

Gold Miners ◽

The Impact

Introduction: Parkinson's disease is one of the fastest-growing diseases in terms of prevalence, disability, and mortality. Exposure to environmental toxic substances, such as mercury (Hg) can increase the risk of neuronal damage and neurodegenerative diseases. Purpose: The purpose of writing this article is to determine the impact of mercury exposure on the incidence of Parkinson's disease in small-scale gold mining workers. Methods: The author searches for material through the Google Scholars, NCBI, and ScienceDirect search pages by limiting the journals published in 2015-2020. In this review, the authors conducted a study of 33 scientific articles. Results: The small-scale gold mining industry is the largest source of mercury emissions in the world. Mercury gas has a negative impact on the lungs, kidneys, liver, and nervous system. Gold miners have a very high likelihood of being exposed to metallic mercury and suffering occupational mercury intoxication. Discussion: Mercury is known to be a neurotoxin that can cause neuron death and damage to the substantia nigra and other basal ganglia nuclei. Acute mercury exposure can cause tremors, memory loss, respiratory distress, and even death. Gold miners are a group that is exposed to a lot of mercury and suffers from work-induced mercury intoxication. Conclusion: Mercury-induced parkinsonism can be identified because of its predilection for accumulation and palladium and striatum damage such as damage to the substantia nigra pars in Parkinson's disease.

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Chronic Effect Analysis of Mercury Exposure on Communities Around Small Scale Gold Mining in Indonesia Using Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Method

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202014804001 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 148 ◽

pp. 04001

Author(s):

Haryo Mubiarto ◽

Herto Dwi Ariesyady ◽

Siska Widya Dewi Kusumah ◽

Juli Soemirat

Keyword(s):

Gold Mining ◽

Daily Intake ◽

Human Biomonitoring ◽

Mercury Exposure ◽

Small Scale ◽

Mining Activities ◽

Chronic Effect ◽

Hair Mercury ◽

Tolerable Weekly Intake ◽

Mercury Intoxication

In general, small-scale gold mining activities that are spread throughout Indonesia practicing amalgamation technique. The amalgamation process in the mining activities can result in environmental degradation due to tailing waste containing mercury that are discharged into the environment and will distributed and bioaccumulated through food chain. Mercury exposure to human can give a chronic effect. Measuring mercury concentration in biomarkers such as nail and hair is a method to indicate the mercury poisoning level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze mercury concentrations in nail and hair as chronic exposure biomarkers. Besides, we also conducted Human Biomonitoring (HBM) analysis to assess mercury intoxication in the communities. Moreover, we analyzed mercury concentrations in water, rice, fish, and food crops samples to understand their association with mercury concentrations in nail and hair through a Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) analysis. This research was conducted in 4 districts in Indonesia which has a significant number of small-scale gold mining activities. The results showed that the maximum concentration of T-Hg in the nail and hair of the workers was 58.48 µg/g and 55.97 µg/g, respectively. Based on HBM analysis, in several districts, more than 60% of the workers has been intoxicated by mercury. Meanwhile, Average Daily Intake (ADI) and PTWI were significantly correlated with concentration mercury in the nail and hair. Mercury concentrations in worker’s hair was significantly correlated with working experience. We identified that the age and residence duration were the major predictor of concentration mercury in nail and hair, respectively.

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