Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania

Pamela Semiono; Msafiri Jackson; Erasto Focus

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

| Peer-Reviewed

Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania

Pamela Semiono, Msafiri Jackson, Erasto Focus

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 11, Issue 3)

Received: 28 February 2023 Accepted: 30 March 2023 Published: 20 June 2023

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Exposure to heavy metals and dusts in artisanal and small scale mining activities is health issues among miners. This study was carried out at Buhemba artisanal and small scale gold mining sites situated in Mara region, Tanzania aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to dust and selected heavy metals. The respirable dust concentrations were measured by an aerosol monitor particle counter while the heavy metals were measured by an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence from pits and processing area. The average concentration of respirable particles in the milling areas ranged from 0.4 g/m³ to 2.01 g/m³ for particle sizes of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm with highest value found in particle size 0.3µm. The respirable dust particle concentration from pits ranged from 0.002 g/m³ to 0.86 g/m³ for the particle size of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm. Milling and pits respirable dust concentrations were generally higher than the WHO recommended value. The average concentration of Mercury (27.24 mg/kg and 6.41mg/kg), Arsenic (269.50mg/kg and 167.41mg/k) for milling and pits respectively were higher than the recommended value by US-EPA. The risk estimates revealed that children are more vulnerable to non-cancer risk due to exposure to heavy metals to Hazard Index values of 27.59 and 7.23 for the milling and pits respectively. The total carcinogenic risk for children in the milling and pit areas at 5.60E-03 and 2.70E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for involuntarily exposed person at 10^-6. Total risk for adults in the milling and pit areas at 6.47E-04 and 4.04E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for voluntarily exposed person at 10^-4.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 11, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
Page(s)	72-79
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining, Heavy Metals, Respirable Dust Particles, Risks Assessment

References

[1]	Veiga, M. M., Maxson, P. A., & Hylander, L. D. (2006). Origin and consumption of mercury in small-scale gold mining. Journal of cleaner production, 14 (3-4), 436-447.
[2]	Mantey, J., Nyarko, K. B., Owusu-Nimo, F., Awua, K. A., Bempah, C. K., Amankwah, R. K., & Appiah-Effah, E. (2020). Mercury contamination of soil and water media from different illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining operations (galamsey). Heliyon, 6 (6), e04312. Metallurgy, 107 (8), pp. 531–538.
[3]	Rajaee, M., Obiri, S., Green, A., Long, R., Cobbina, S. J., Nartey, V., & Basu, N. (2015). Integrated assessment of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Ghana—Part 2: Natural sciences review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12 (8), 8971-9011. scale gold mining activities: A case of Nyarugusu gold mines, Geita–Tanzania.
[4]	Briffa, J., Sinagra, E., & Blundell, R. (2020). Heavy metal pollution in the environment and their toxicological effects on humans. Heliyon, 6 (9), e04691.
[5]	Xiao, R., Wang, S., Li, R., Wang, J. J., & Zhang, Z. (2017). Soil heavy metal contamination and health risks associated with artisanal gold mining in Tongguan, Shaanxi, China. Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 141, 17-24.
[6]	Hermanus, M. A. (2007). Occupational health and safety in mining-status, new developments, and concerns. Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 107 (8), 531-538.
[7]	United Republic of Tanzania (2012). 2012 Population and Housing Census, (2012). National Bureau of Statistics, Dar es Salaam.
[8]	State Mining Corporation, (2015). Buhemba gold project profile. Corporation.
[9]	Henckel, J., Poulsen, K. H., Sharp, T., & Spora, P. (2016). Lake victoria goldfields. Episodes Journal of International Geoscience, 39 (2), 135-154.
[10]	Ljepoja, D. (2015). Characterization of Road Dust in Western North Dakota (Doctoral dissertation, North Dakota State University).
[11]	USEPA (1989). Risk assessment guidance for superfund. volume I: Human health evaluation manual (Part A). Interim final. Office of emergency and remedial response. EPA/540/1-89/002. Washington, D. C.
[12]	US. EPA (2001). Risk assessment guidance for superfund: volume III part A, process for conducting probabilistic risk assessment. Washington, DC: US Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/201509/documents/rags3adt_complete.pdf.
[13]	US. Environmental Protection Agency (2009). Risk assessment guidance for superfund volume I: Human health evaluation manual (Part F, Supplemental guidance for inhalation risk assessment) EPA-540-R-070-002 OSWER 9285.7-82 Washington D. C.
[14]	Zheng, N., Liu, J., Wang, Q., & Liang, Z. (2010). Health risk assessment of heavy metal exposure to street dust in the zinc smelting district, Northeast of China. Science of the Total Environment, 408 (4), 726-733.
[15]	Smith, R. L. (1995). EPA region III risk based concentration table. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1-24.
[16]	US. Environmental Protection Agency (2014). Human health evaluation manual, Supplemental guidance: Update of standard default exposure factors; office of emergency and remedial response; OSWER Directive 9200.1.120, Washington, DC, USA. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100NQNA.PDF?Dockey=P100NQNA.PDF.
[17]	US. Environmental Protection Agency (2002). Supplemental guidance for developing soil screening level for superfund sites. OSWER 9355. 4-24. Office of solid waste and emergency response, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/91003IJK.PDF?Dockey=91003IJK.PDF
[18]	USEPA. Exposure factors handbook (2011). 1^st Edition (final report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/052F, 2011.
[19]	USEPA (2018). Regional Screening Levels (RSLs) Tables (last Update May 2018). http://www.semspub.epa.gov/work/HQ/197237.PDF (accessed on 10 Sept 2018).
[20]	USEPA. Integrated risk information system (IRIS) (2010). United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington D. C., USA.
[21]	U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Framework for Determining a Mutagenic Mode of Action for Carcinogenicity: Review Draft. 2007. Available online: http://www.epa.gov/osa/mmoaframework/pdfs/MMOA-ERD-FINAL-83007.pdf.
[22]	USEPA (1991). Human health evaluation manual, supplemental guidance; standard default exposure factors; USEPA: Washington, DC, USA.
[23]	Luo, X. S., Ding, J., & Xu, B. (2012) Incorporating bioaccessibility into human health risk assessment of heavy metals in urban park soils. Sci. Total Environ. 424, 88-96.
[24]	Tanzania Bureau of Standards, (2007). Tanzania Bureau of Standards. Soil Quality Limits for Soil Contaminants in Habitat and Agriculture TZS 972: 2007 (E).
[25]	Rahaman, S., Sinha, A. C., Pati, R., & Mukhopadhyay, D. (2013). Arsenic contamination: a potential hazard to the affected areas of West Bengal, India. Environmental geochemistry and health, 35 (1), 119-132.
[26]	Abedin, M., Cotter-Howells, J., & Meharg, A. A. (2002). Arsenic uptake and accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) irrigated with contaminated water. Plant and soil, 240 (2), 311-319.
[27]	Cunningham, W. P., Saigo, B. W., and Cunningham, M. A. (2001). Environmental science: A developments, and concerns’, Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and dissertation, North Dakota State University). global concern (Vol. 412). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
[28]	Lema, M. W., & Mseli, Z. H. (2017). Assessment of soil pollution (heavy metal) from small scale gold mining Activities. A Case of, 4, 1-5.
[29]	Johnbull, O., Abbassi, B., & Zytner, R. G. (2019). Risk assessment of heavy metals in soil based on the geographic information system-Kriging technique in Anka, Nigeria. Environmental Engineering Research, 24 (1), 150-158.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Pamela Semiono, Msafiri Jackson, Erasto Focus. (2023). Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 11(3), 72-79. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Pamela Semiono; Msafiri Jackson; Erasto Focus. Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2023, 11(3), 72-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Pamela Semiono, Msafiri Jackson, Erasto Focus. Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2023;11(3):72-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13,
  author = {Pamela Semiono and Msafiri Jackson and Erasto Focus},
  title = {Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {11},
  number = {3},
  pages = {72-79},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20231103.13},
  abstract = {Exposure to heavy metals and dusts in artisanal and small scale mining activities is health issues among miners. This study was carried out at Buhemba artisanal and small scale gold mining sites situated in Mara region, Tanzania aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to dust and selected heavy metals. The respirable dust concentrations were measured by an aerosol monitor particle counter while the heavy metals were measured by an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence from pits and processing area. The average concentration of respirable particles in the milling areas ranged from 0.4 g/m3 to 2.01 g/m3 for particle sizes of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm with highest value found in particle size 0.3µm. The respirable dust particle concentration from pits ranged from 0.002 g/m3 to 0.86 g/m3 for the particle size of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm. Milling and pits respirable dust concentrations were generally higher than the WHO recommended value. The average concentration of Mercury (27.24 mg/kg and 6.41mg/kg), Arsenic (269.50mg/kg and 167.41mg/k) for milling and pits respectively were higher than the recommended value by US-EPA. The risk estimates revealed that children are more vulnerable to non-cancer risk due to exposure to heavy metals to Hazard Index values of 27.59 and 7.23 for the milling and pits respectively. The total carcinogenic risk for children in the milling and pit areas at 5.60E-03 and 2.70E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for involuntarily exposed person at 10-6. Total risk for adults in the milling and pit areas at 6.47E-04 and 4.04E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for voluntarily exposed person at 10-4.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania
AU  - Pamela Semiono
AU  - Msafiri Jackson
AU  - Erasto Focus
Y1  - 2023/06/20
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 72
EP  - 79
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
AB  - Exposure to heavy metals and dusts in artisanal and small scale mining activities is health issues among miners. This study was carried out at Buhemba artisanal and small scale gold mining sites situated in Mara region, Tanzania aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to dust and selected heavy metals. The respirable dust concentrations were measured by an aerosol monitor particle counter while the heavy metals were measured by an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence from pits and processing area. The average concentration of respirable particles in the milling areas ranged from 0.4 g/m3 to 2.01 g/m3 for particle sizes of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm with highest value found in particle size 0.3µm. The respirable dust particle concentration from pits ranged from 0.002 g/m3 to 0.86 g/m3 for the particle size of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm. Milling and pits respirable dust concentrations were generally higher than the WHO recommended value. The average concentration of Mercury (27.24 mg/kg and 6.41mg/kg), Arsenic (269.50mg/kg and 167.41mg/k) for milling and pits respectively were higher than the recommended value by US-EPA. The risk estimates revealed that children are more vulnerable to non-cancer risk due to exposure to heavy metals to Hazard Index values of 27.59 and 7.23 for the milling and pits respectively. The total carcinogenic risk for children in the milling and pit areas at 5.60E-03 and 2.70E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for involuntarily exposed person at 10-6. Total risk for adults in the milling and pit areas at 6.47E-04 and 4.04E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for voluntarily exposed person at 10-4.
VL  - 11
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Pamela Semiono

Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, The Open University of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Msafiri Jackson

Department of Environmental Engineering, Mwalimu Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT), Mara, Tanzania
Erasto Focus

Department of Physics, Mwalimu Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology, Mara, Tanzania

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Pamela Semiono, Msafiri Jackson, Erasto Focus. (2023). Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 11(3), 72-79. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Pamela Semiono; Msafiri Jackson; Erasto Focus. Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2023, 11(3), 72-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Pamela Semiono, Msafiri Jackson, Erasto Focus. Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2023;11(3):72-79. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13,
  author = {Pamela Semiono and Msafiri Jackson and Erasto Focus},
  title = {Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {11},
  number = {3},
  pages = {72-79},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20231103.13},
  abstract = {Exposure to heavy metals and dusts in artisanal and small scale mining activities is health issues among miners. This study was carried out at Buhemba artisanal and small scale gold mining sites situated in Mara region, Tanzania aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to dust and selected heavy metals. The respirable dust concentrations were measured by an aerosol monitor particle counter while the heavy metals were measured by an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence from pits and processing area. The average concentration of respirable particles in the milling areas ranged from 0.4 g/m3 to 2.01 g/m3 for particle sizes of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm with highest value found in particle size 0.3µm. The respirable dust particle concentration from pits ranged from 0.002 g/m3 to 0.86 g/m3 for the particle size of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm. Milling and pits respirable dust concentrations were generally higher than the WHO recommended value. The average concentration of Mercury (27.24 mg/kg and 6.41mg/kg), Arsenic (269.50mg/kg and 167.41mg/k) for milling and pits respectively were higher than the recommended value by US-EPA. The risk estimates revealed that children are more vulnerable to non-cancer risk due to exposure to heavy metals to Hazard Index values of 27.59 and 7.23 for the milling and pits respectively. The total carcinogenic risk for children in the milling and pit areas at 5.60E-03 and 2.70E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for involuntarily exposed person at 10-6. Total risk for adults in the milling and pit areas at 6.47E-04 and 4.04E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for voluntarily exposed person at 10-4.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Occupational Health Risks of Dusts and Heavy Metals Contamination from the Artisanal Gold Mine of Buhemba, Tanzania
AU  - Pamela Semiono
AU  - Msafiri Jackson
AU  - Erasto Focus
Y1  - 2023/06/20
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 72
EP  - 79
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20231103.13
AB  - Exposure to heavy metals and dusts in artisanal and small scale mining activities is health issues among miners. This study was carried out at Buhemba artisanal and small scale gold mining sites situated in Mara region, Tanzania aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to dust and selected heavy metals. The respirable dust concentrations were measured by an aerosol monitor particle counter while the heavy metals were measured by an Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence from pits and processing area. The average concentration of respirable particles in the milling areas ranged from 0.4 g/m3 to 2.01 g/m3 for particle sizes of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm with highest value found in particle size 0.3µm. The respirable dust particle concentration from pits ranged from 0.002 g/m3 to 0.86 g/m3 for the particle size of 0.3µm, 0.5 µm, 1 µm, 5 µm and 10 µm. Milling and pits respirable dust concentrations were generally higher than the WHO recommended value. The average concentration of Mercury (27.24 mg/kg and 6.41mg/kg), Arsenic (269.50mg/kg and 167.41mg/k) for milling and pits respectively were higher than the recommended value by US-EPA. The risk estimates revealed that children are more vulnerable to non-cancer risk due to exposure to heavy metals to Hazard Index values of 27.59 and 7.23 for the milling and pits respectively. The total carcinogenic risk for children in the milling and pit areas at 5.60E-03 and 2.70E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for involuntarily exposed person at 10-6. Total risk for adults in the milling and pit areas at 6.47E-04 and 4.04E-04 respectively, were above the acceptable risk for voluntarily exposed person at 10-4.
VL  - 11
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download