Gold Mining in Ecuador: A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Mercury in Urine and Medical Symptoms in Miners from Portovelo/Zaruma

Paul Schutzmeier, Ursula Berger and Stephan Bose-O’Reilly
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Paul Schutzmeier: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, University Hospital Munich, Munich 80336, Germany
Ursula Berger: Department of Medical Information Sciences, Biometrics, and Epidemiology IBE, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich 81377, Germany
Stephan Bose-O’Reilly: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, University Hospital Munich, Munich 80336, Germany

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Mercury is a toxic metal and is used in small scale gold mining. In Portovelo, Ecuador, mercury has been an environmental and health problem for decades. The target of this study was to assess the mercury concentration in the urine of miners from Portovelo/Zaruma to establish a prevalence of high values. Eight hundred and sixty-five (865) urine samples were collected and analysed for their mercury content, using cold vapor atom absorption spectroscopy. The prevalence of high mercury values (>25 ?g/L) was estimated. Forty-four (44) miners with mercury levels >15 ?g/L filled in a questionnaire for characteristics and possible confounders, and were examined for intoxication symptoms to establish the ten points medical score sum. The median urine value was 1.8 ?g/L; 78.3% of miners were below 7 ?g/L and were not at risk of an intoxication, whereas 5.9% of miners exceeded the limit of 25 ?g/L and were probable to experience intoxication symptoms. The medical score sum had a range of 2 to 8 points with a median of 6. The low prevalence of high mercury concentrations shows that the politics and techniques to eliminate the use of mercury are being successfully implemented. Further studies are needed to identify factors enabling this process.

Keywords: mercury; artisanal small scale gold mining; Ecuador; urine; medical score sum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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