Protocols for Environmental and Health Assessment of Mercury Released By Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Miners

TABLE OF CONTENTS......Page 8 SUMMARY......Page 4 LIST OF FIGURES......Page 12 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......Page 13 IMPORTANT NOTE......Page 14 PART 1 – ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT......Page 15 1.1. AMALGAMATION AND MERCURY RELEASES......Page 20 1.1.1. Mercury Used by ASM......Page 21 1.1.2. Evaluating Hg Releases......Page 40 1.2. CHARACTERIZING CONTAMINATION AND POLLUTION......Page 42 1.3. SOILS AND SEDIMENTS......Page 45 1.3.1. Determining Soil and Sediment Background......Page 49 1.3.2. Dispersed Contamination......Page 55 1.3.3. Hotspots......Page 65 1.3.4. Mercury Mobility......Page 78 1.4. WATER......Page 83 Sampling Water......Page 87 1 5.1. Using Selective Extraction to Assess Bioavailability......Page 88 1.5.2. Using Fish to Assess Bioavailability......Page 93 1.5.3. Using Invertebrates to Assess Bioavailability......Page 109 1.5.4. Taxonomic Richness and Abundance to Assess Bioavailability......Page 114 1.5.5. Using Physico-chemical Variables to Assess Bioavailability......Page 115 1.5.6. Using Humans to Assess Bioavailability......Page 117 1.6.1. Water......Page 129 1.6.2. Sediment......Page 130 1.6.3. Biota Tissue......Page 134 1.6.4. Urine, Blood and Hair......Page 135 1.6.5. Other Analytical Procedures......Page 136 1.7.1. Precision......Page 137 1.7.2. Accuracy......Page 138 1.7.3. Method Detection Limit......Page 139 PART 2 – HEALTH ASSESSMENT......Page 140 Symptoms of Hg Vapour Exposure......Page 142 Health Problems of ASM Exposure to Hg Vapour......Page 144 2.2.1. Iraq Tragedy......Page 148 2.2.2. The Minamata Outbreak......Page 149 2.2.3. MeHg Poisoning......Page 150 2.2.4. Low-level MeHg Exposure......Page 153 2.3.2. Hg in Fish......Page 156 2.3.2. Hg in Hair......Page 157 2.4. SAMPLING FISH FOR HEALTH ASSESSMENT......Page 158 2.5.1. Procedures......Page 160 2.5.2. Confounding Factors......Page 165 2.5.3. Data Management......Page 166 2.6. PUBLIC INFORMATION......Page 172 2.7. A SUGGESTED SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS......Page 173 2.8. DISCLAIMER......Page 174 REFERENCES......Page 175 APPENDIX 1: EXAMPLE OF A HEALTH ASSESSMENT SURVEY......Page 212 1. General Questionnaire......Page 213 2. Health Questionnaire......Page 219 3. Clinical-Neurological Examination......Page 224 4. Specific (Neuropsychological) Tests......Page 229 5. Specimens......Page 239 6. Laboratory Analysis Results......Page 240 7. Medical Score Sum......Page 241 8. Decision for the diagnosis of "chronic Hg intoxication"......Page 243 APPENDIX 2: EXAMPLE OF A SOCIO-ECONOMIC QUESTIONNAIRE......Page 245 What does one have to do before starting an E&HA?......Page 254 How does one assess mercury releases from ASM?......Page 255 Is it possible to analyze the levels of Hg in air?......Page 256 What are the main pathways of Hg to humans?......Page 257 How does methylation of metallic Hg occur?......Page 258 What information is obtained when one analyzes Hg in soils/sediments?......Page 259 What is the best way to establish reference Hg levels in soil/sediment?......Page 260 How does one characterize and locate Hg mining hotspots?......Page 263 How does one characterize and locate an environmental hotspot?......Page 265 How does one determine if Hg from hotspots is being dispersed?......Page 266 When should a mining hotspot be mitigated?......Page 268 Is it possible to determine if Hg bioavailability is increasing/reducing over time?......Page 269 What is the most appropriate fish species to be chosen as bioindicator?......Page 271 What is the procedure to sample fish for Hg analysis?......Page 272 Is there another method to characterize Hg bioavailability?......Page 273 Is it possible to sample other animals instead of fish to characterize Hg bioavailability?......Page 274 What is the procedure to sample aquatic invertebrates?......Page 275 Is there any laboratory method to predict bioavailability using animals?......Page 276 When must water be sampled?......Page 278 Can humans be used to assess Hg bioavailability in a site or region?......Page 279 What are the normal levels of Hg in urine?......Page 280 What is creatinine?......Page 281 What are the main effects of methylmercury in humans?......Page 282 What are the normal levels of Hg in blood and hair?......Page 283 What are the guidelines and reference dose of Hg in fish?......Page 284 How are fish sampled for Health Assessment?......Page 285 How many individuals should be selected for medical examination?......Page 286 What formalities must be observed during the medical examination?......Page 287 What is a typical medical examination questionnaire?......Page 288 What are some of the confounding factors during the medical examination?......Page 289 What is a sequence of actions to be used in Health Assessments?......Page 290 What immediate advice can be provided to miners and exposed people?......Page 291 Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a poverty-driven activity that provides an important source of livelihood for rural communities. It is frequently accompanied by extensive environmental degradation and deplorable socio-economic conditions. Metallic mercury, which is the main form of pollution released by small-scale mining, is capricious and difficult to work with. The main goals of the Global Mercury Project are to: reduce Hg pollution caused by artisanal miners on international waters; introduce cleaner technologies for gold extraction and teach miners how to use these technologies; develop capacity and regulatory mechanisms within local governments that will enable the sector to minimize Hg pollution; introduce environmental and health monitoring programs; and build capacity in local laboratories to assess the extent and impact of Hg pollution.--Publisher's description Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) is a poverty-driven activity that provides an important source of livelihood for rural communities. This document brings simple, replicable and sustainable techniques to be used by environmental and health agencies, mining-related institutions and researchers for monitoring mercury pollution.