Lung Function Assessment as an Early Biomonitor of Mercury-Induced Health Disorders in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining Areas in Indonesia

Sri Manovita Pateda, Masayuki Sakakibara and Koichiro Sera
Additional contact information
Sri Manovita Pateda: Graduate School of Science & Engineering, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture 790-8577, Japan
Masayuki Sakakibara: Graduate School of Science & Engineering, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture 790-8577, Japan
Koichiro Sera: Cyclotron Research Center, Iwate Medical University, 348-58 Tomegamori, Takizawa, Iwate 020-0173, Japan

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: The evaluation of mercury impact on humans is currently nonspecific because the body characteristics (homeostasis) of each human being varies. Therefore, in the early diagnosis of mercury toxicity, one of the most important monitoring parameters is the respiratory function examination. In this study, respiratory function was examined with a portable spirometer and correlated with the mercury levels in hair from the noses and heads of subjects. Samples were taken from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas (villages of East Tulabolo and Dunggilata) and control areas (villages of Bongo and Longalo) in Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. A statistical analysis with the Mann–Whitney test (alternative) showed significant differences in lung function between the polluted and control areas ( α = 0.03). The analysis of nasal and head hair samples with particle-induced X -ray emissions (PIXE) showed that the mercury levels in the ASGM area were considerably higher than in the more homogeneous control areas. This study confirms that a pulmonary function test is a quick and precise alternative way to monitor the impact of mercury on humans, especially atmospheric mercury, because we detected a negative correlation between pulmonary function and the level of mercury in hair.

Keywords: mercury; biomonitor; ASGM; spirometry; Gorontalo (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2480/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2480/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2480-:d:181108

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().