Exposure to mercury from people working in artisanal mining of gold, Costa Rica, 2015-2016

 

Guardado en:
Sonraí Bibleagrafaíochta
Údar: Fernández Villalobos, Nathalie
Formáid: artículo original
Stádas:Versión publicada
Fecha de Publicación:2019
Cur Síos:Introduction: Artisanal gold mining is an economic activity that is done primarily in low-income countries. During this activity, mercury is used for the recovery of gold, which has various ways of affecting human health, especially by inhalation of mercury vapor. Aim: describe the mechanisms of exposure to mercury from people working in artisanal mining of gold, on the boards of Abangares, Costa Rica, 2015-2016. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was applied to learn about risk factors. In addition, a checklist was used to observe the process of artisanal gold mining. Finally, it was made the measurement of atmospheric mercury concentrations in the workplace to learn the limits of mercury to which people were exposed. Results: The measurements indicated that release of mercury vapor is generated during the burning process, and the personal protective equipment was not suitable during the conduct of mining activity. There are risk factors that increase the risk of mercury poisoning. Conclusions: the participants who work in artisanal gold mining use technology that does not have the necessary requirements to minimize their risks, especially the retort and its function to prevent the escape of mercury.
País:Portal de Revistas UCR
Institiúid:Universidad de Costa Rica
Repositorio:Portal de Revistas UCR
Teanga:Español
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/37789
Rochtain Ar Líne:https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/psm/article/view/37789
Palabra clave:artisanal mining
environmental health
mercury exposition
occupational exposure
exposición a mercurio
exposición ocupacional
minería artesanal
salud ambiental