FINDING OF HIGH LEVEL ARSENIC FOR MONGOLIAN VILLAGERS' HAIR

2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. MURAO ◽  
B. TUMENBAYAR ◽  
K. SERA ◽  
S. FUTATSUGAWA ◽  
T. WAZA
Keyword(s):  
Mercury Content ◽  
Smelting Process ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Gold Miners ◽  
Artisanal Miners ◽  
High Level

In recent years, the number of artisanal gold miners in Mongolia is drastically increasing. They use mercury to extract gold from ore and release it to the environment and this fact has been an issue of concern in the nation. In order to monitor the degree of exposure to mercury, artisanal miners' hairs from a typical mining site, Boroo, were analyzed by PIXE at Nishina Memorial Cyclotron Center, Japan. The result indicated that mercury content in the hairs is very low in spite of the miners' practice to work in mercury fume for smelting. However the result showed high level of arsenic, up to 3.2 ppm, although miners' do not use arsenic in the smelting process.

scholarly journals Clinical, Paraclinical, and Evolutionary Profiles of Kidney Failure in Gold Miners Hospitalized in a Nephrological Service in a Sub-Saharan African Country

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Gérard Coulibaly ◽  
Gaoussou Sanou ◽  
Moumouni Sanon ◽  
Aïda H. Y. Lengani ◽  
Juste Y. Bonzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kidney Failure ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Chronic Kidney Failure ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Mining Sites ◽  
Gold Miners ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
A Prospective Study

Introduction. The purpose of this preliminary study is to describe the clinical, paraclinical, and evolutionary profiles of gold miner patients with kidney failure hospitalized in the nephrology and haemodialysis service in the Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital of Ouagadougou (CHU-YO). Patients and Methods. This was a longitudinal and descriptive study with a retrospective collection of data for the period from February 1, 2013, to March 31, 2018. Included were all gold miner patients who stayed and worked at an artisanal gold mining site for at least three months and who were diagnosed with acute or chronic kidney failure during hospitalization in the nephrology service. We collected sociodemographic, clinical, and paraclinical variables at admission and then three months later. Results. We included 50 patients; all were male and the average age was 29.4 ± 7.7 years. All patients were exposed to mercury and/or cyanide for an average of 4.5 ± 2.8 years. The average consultation/referral time for patients at the CHU-YO was 25.4 ± 14.9 days. The average of creatininemia was 2338.0 ± 791.4 μmol/L. Kidney failure was acute in five cases (10%) and chronic in the remaining 45 cases or 90%. Extrarenal purification was indicated in 43 cases (86%). It was not performed in nine of the 43 cases due to lack of financial resources for patients (six cases) or death prior to the onset of haemodialysis (three cases). Thirty-two of the 50 patients in the study (64% of cases) died. Conclusion. Chronic kidney failure in gold miners appears to be common and late-managed. A prospective study of kidney disease and its causes at gold mining sites and surrounding areas will assess the extent of the problem in the country and better clarify the prevention of these diseases in our country.

scholarly journals Effect of Riffle Height and Spacing of a Sluice Board on Placer Gold Recovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-72
Author(s):  
G. Agyei ◽  
J. J. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Processing Technique ◽  
Gold Recovery ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
Placer Gold ◽  
Gold Particles ◽  
Artisanal Miners ◽  
The University ◽  
Gold Bearing

Sluicing is the preferred mineral processing technique for the treatment of placer gold-bearing alluvium for small scale and artisanal miners in Ghana because sluice board is perceived to be the most cost effective device. However, there are differences in approaches from design to operation.  In this work, about 50 kg of ore was obtained from “Peace School” small scale mining site near the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa. It was processed to determine the effects of riffle height and spacing on gold recovery. It was confirmed that, in order to trap a greater percentage of gold particles, the height of the riffle ought to be higher than the suspension height of the gold. The suspension heights of the gold particles of the various operational regimes of the sluice board at superficial velocities of 0.5 m/s, 1.0 m/s, 1.5 m/s and 2.0 m/ were   0.9 cm, 1.2 cm, 1.5 cm and 2.9 cm respectively. Analysis of concentrates showed that, 85.4% of gold was recovered during sluicing at approximately 1.0 cm riffle height.  The lowest recovery was recorded at 0.5 cm riffle height. Gold recovery was also affected by riffles spacing.  For the indicated speeds and the riffle heights the necessary spacing should not be more than 20 cm. The peak recovery was obtained at a riffle height of 1.0 cm but dropped after 20.0 cm spacing. Keywords: Sluice Board, Riffle Height, Gold, Rifle Spacing 

How much do artisanal miners earn? An inquiry among Congolese gold miners

2020 ◽  
pp. 101893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Geenen ◽  
Nik Stoop ◽  
Marijke Verpoorten
Keyword(s):  
Gold Miners ◽  
Artisanal Miners

scholarly journals Anthropometric Characteristics and Mineral Distribution and Contamination in Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining Site of Ciguha in Gunung Pongkor, Bogor

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haryoto Kusnoputranto ◽  
Jonatan Oktoris Simanjuntak ◽  
Nila Puspita Sari ◽  
Bambang Wispriyono ◽  
Abdur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mining ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Polluted Soil ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Contamination Level ◽  
Environmental Matrices ◽  
Mining Site ◽  
High Level ◽  
Iron Manganese ◽  
Iron And Manganese

Ciguha in Gunung Pongkor, Bogor, had been an artisanal and small-scale gold mining site (ASGM) since 1998 where amalgamations were used intensively leading to pollution in water, soil, and foodstuffs. The present study assessed distribution and contamination level (CL) of minerals in a total of 69 environmental samples consisting of drinking water (n = 12), rice (n = 13), vegetable (n = 15), fruits (n = 5), fish (n = 14), and soil (n = 10). Chromium, iron, and manganese representing trace essential elements but toxic at high level, mercury representing heavy metal, arsenic representing toxic metalloid, and selenium representing essential metalloid which toxic at high level, were analyzed as mineral contaminants. Meanwhile, a total of 101 Ciguha residents consisting of 60 adults, 15 teenagers, and 26 school aged children were involved to charaterize athropometric exposure factors. The results shows that mercury has polluted soil, kangkung, thai squash, cassava leaves, and rice with contamination level (CL) of 604.43, 8.15, 6.01, 4.14, and 2.76 folds, respectively, while chromium has only polluted thai squash with CL of 1.18 folds. Amazingly, mercury distribution was only in the third position after iron and manganese, while the most distributed mineral was iron and the least was selenium. In overall environmental matrices, the detection frequencies of iron, manganese, mercury, chromium, arsenic, and selenium were 94.2, 56.2, 52.2, 47.8, 21.7, and 15.9 %, respectively. In conclusion, mercury was the most critical contaminant in ASGM site of Ciguha that has heavily polluted soil and grown vegetables, but the most distributed mineral was iron. Toxicologically, only mercury and chromium are important while arsenic, iron, manganese, and selenium are of less concern since the CL<1.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Cytokine Profile and Hypertension among the Mercury-Exposed Residents of Temirtau Region in Central Kazakhstan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyazzat SHINETOVA ◽  
Almira AKPAROVA ◽  
Saulemai BEKEYEVA
Keyword(s):  
Mercury Level ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Interleukin 2 ◽  
Serum Levels ◽  
Mercury Content ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mercury Contamination ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
High Level

Background: Mercury is a common environmental contaminant and it is also harmful to human health. Among reported toxicities, its harmful effect on hypertension is poorly documented. In Kazakhstan, Temirtau city has been reported to have a high level of mercury contamination from an acetaldehyde production factory. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between serum profile of cytokines and the development of hypertension among the exposed citizens. Methods: We selected 81 individuals for study, out of them, 41 exposed ones suffered hypertension and 40 – unexposed healthy controls in villages Chkalovo, Samarkand, Gagarinskoye, Tegiszhol, Rostovka in 2016. Mercury content in urine was studied by inversion voltammetry. Cytokine levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA. Results: Mercury-exposed citizens, especially those with hypertension, had significantly higher concentrations of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6 and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 as compared to the unexposed population. The dependence of the mercury level in urine on IL-2 content was also detected. Therefore, chronic low doses of exposure to mercury were associated with an increase in serum levels of immune markers and with the increased risk of hypertension. Conclusion: The presence of mercury in the body probably affected the expression of interleukin-2, one of the main cytokines that coordinate immune response.  

scholarly journals Social- Economic Assessment and Profitability of Artisanal Gold Miners in Niger State, Nigeria

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mbuyi M Melodi ◽  
Ganiyu W Ajibade
Keyword(s):  
Gold Mining ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Frequency Table ◽  
Artisanal Gold Mining ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Ready Availability ◽  
Gold Miners ◽  
Economic Profile ◽  
Artisanal Miners

This study centers on socio-economic assessment and profitability of artisanal gold miners in Niger State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to examine artisanal gold miners’ socio-economic profile, examine the level of profitability of artisanal gold mining and identify the constraints determining the profitability of artisanal gold mining. Primary data was used which were obtained through the administration of structured questionnaires to randomly sampled artisanal gold miners in the study area. Descriptive statistics using charts, frequency table, mean, maximum, minimum and range, and inferential statistics using multiple linear regression, t-test were used as well as budgetary analysis. Profit difference of N 16,139.69 was noted between male and female artisan gold miners, with male earning a non-significantly (p>0.05) higher profit than the female artisans. Married artisan spent significantly (p<0.05) more (N106, 549.66) in running their various artisanal duties than the unmarried single artisans (N 87,036.67). Single artisans were noted to earn higher revenue than their married counterpart. This significant difference of N 20,897.09 can be accounted for by the ready availability of single unmarried artisans to work for longer hours per day without any distraction of family cares and obligations. This invariably leads to the significantly higher profit of single unmarried artisanal miners of N97, 051. Other significant determinants of artisanal gold profit level are miners’ age in years (p<0.01), experience at work in years (p<0.10) and years of work at current mine (p<0.05). Findings shows that  artisanal miners were noted to be operating profitably in the study location; however, marital status, age of miners, years of experience and years of work in the current mine were found to be significant determinants of profitability and profit level of an average miners.  Keywords – Profitability, Artisanal gold, Revenue, Socio-economic profile, constraints.

Identification of Pulmonary Deposits from a Sandpaper Worker: A Study by Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 52-53
Author(s):  
S. K. Peng ◽  
M.A. Egy ◽  
J. K. Singh ◽  
M.B. Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Rare Case ◽  
Interstitial Fibrosis ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Documented Case ◽  
Etiologic Agents ◽  
Pulmonary Interstitial Fibrosis ◽  
Gold Miners ◽  
Pulmonary Changes

Electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (EDXA) are found to be very useful tools for identification of etiologic agents in pneumoconiosis or interstitial pulmonary disorders. Pulmonary interstitial fibrosis and granulomatosis are frequently associated with occupational and environmental pollution. Numerous reports of pneumoconiosis in various occupations such as coal and gold miners are presented in the literature. However, there is no known documented case of pulmonary changes in workers in the sandpaper industry. This study reports a rare case of pulmonary granulomatosis containing deposits from abrasives of sandpaper diagnosed by using EDXA.

Transcription factor/DNA interactions visualized by electron spectroscopic imaging

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 450-451
Author(s):  
David P. Bazett-Jones ◽  
Mark L. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Phosphorus Content ◽  
Spectroscopic Imaging ◽  
Electron Spectroscopic Imaging ◽  
Dna Backbone ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
High Level

A multisubunit RNA polymerase enzyme is ultimately responsible for transcription initiation and elongation of RNA, but recognition of the proper start site by the enzyme is regulated by general, temporal and gene-specific trans-factors interacting at promoter and enhancer DNA sequences. To understand the molecular mechanisms which precisely regulate the transcription initiation event, it is crucial to elucidate the structure of the transcription factor/DNA complexes involved. Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) provides the opportunity to visualize individual DNA molecules. Enhancement of DNA contrast with ESI is accomplished by imaging with electrons that have interacted with inner shell electrons of phosphorus in the DNA backbone. Phosphorus detection at this intermediately high level of resolution (≈lnm) permits selective imaging of the DNA, to determine whether the protein factors compact, bend or wrap the DNA. Simultaneously, mass analysis and phosphorus content can be measured quantitatively, using adjacent DNA or tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as mass and phosphorus standards. These two parameters provide stoichiometric information relating the ratios of protein:DNA content.

Advances in Stem Instrumentation for Biology

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 362-363
Author(s):  
J. S. Wall
Keyword(s):  
Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Carbon Films ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Material Deposition ◽  
Active User ◽  
Percent Improvement ◽  
Scanning Transmission ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Film Substrate ◽  
High Level

The forte of the Scanning transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) is high resolution imaging with high contrast on thin specimens, as demonstrated by visualization of single heavy atoms. of equal importance for biology is the efficient utilization of all available signals, permitting low dose imaging of unstained single molecules such as DNA.Our work at Brookhaven has concentrated on: 1) design and construction of instruments optimized for a narrow range of biological applications and 2) use of such instruments in a very active user/collaborator program. Therefore our program is highly interactive with a strong emphasis on producing results which are interpretable with a high level of confidence.The major challenge we face at the moment is specimen preparation. The resolution of the STEM is better than 2.5 A, but measurements of resolution vs. dose level off at a resolution of 20 A at a dose of 10 el/A2 on a well-behaved biological specimen such as TMV (tobacco mosaic virus). To track down this problem we are examining all aspects of specimen preparation: purification of biological material, deposition on the thin film substrate, washing, fast freezing and freeze drying. As we attempt to improve our equipment/technique, we use image analysis of TMV internal controls included in all STEM samples as a monitor sensitive enough to detect even a few percent improvement. For delicate specimens, carbon films can be very harsh-leading to disruption of the sample. Therefore we are developing conducting polymer films as alternative substrates, as described elsewhere in these Proceedings. For specimen preparation studies, we have identified (from our user/collaborator program ) a variety of “canary” specimens, each uniquely sensitive to one particular aspect of sample preparation, so we can attempt to separate the variables involved.

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