Study on Association between Spatial Distribution of Metal Mines and Disease Mortality: A Case Study in Suxian District, South China

Daping Song, Dong Jiang, Yong Wang, Wei Chen, Yaohuan Huang and Dafang Zhuang
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Daping Song: College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, 6 Weigang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China
Dong Jiang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
Yong Wang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
Wei Chen: College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, 6 Weigang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China
Yaohuan Huang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
Dafang Zhuang: College of Resource and Environmental Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, 6 Weigang Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing 210095, China

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Metal mines release toxic substances into the environment and can therefore negatively impact the health of residents in nearby regions. This paper sought to investigate whether there was excess disease mortality in populations in the vicinity of the mining area in Suxian District, South China. The spatial distribution of metal mining and related activities from 1985 to 2012, which was derived from remote sensing imagery, was overlapped with disease mortality data. Three hotspot areas with high disease mortality were identified around the Shizhuyuan mine sites, i.e. , the Dengjiatang metal smelting sites, and the Xianxichong mine sites. Disease mortality decreased with the distance to the mining and smelting areas. Population exposure to pollution was estimated on the basis of distance from town of residence to pollution source. The risk of dying according to disease mortality rates was analyzed within 7–25 km buffers. The results suggested that there was a close relationship between the risk of disease mortality and proximity to the Suxian District mining industries. These associations were dependent on the type and scale of mining activities, the area influenced by mining and so on.

Keywords: metal mining area; heavy metal; land use; mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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