Impacts of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) on Environment and Human Health of Gorontalo Utara Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Arifin, Yayu Indriati; Sakakibara, Masayuki; Sera, Koichiro

doi:10.3390/geosciences5020160

Volume 5, Issue 2

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Geosciences 2015, 5(2), 160-176; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences5020160

Impacts of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) on Environment and Human Health of Gorontalo Utara Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Yayu Indriati Arifin^1,2,*

, Masayuki Sakakibara^1,†

and Koichiro Sera^3,†

Graduate School of Science & Engineering, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan

Department of Geology, State University of Gorontalo, Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 6 Kota Gorontalo, Gorontalo 96128, Indonesia

Cyclotron Research Center, Iwate Medical University, 348-58 Tomegamori, Takizawa, Iwate 020-0173, Japan

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Academic Editors: Jose A. Centeno, Robert B. Finkelman and Olle Selinus

Received: 29 December 2014 / Revised: 28 March 2015 / Accepted: 8 April 2015 / Published: 16 April 2015

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medical Geology: Impacts of the Natural Environment on Public Health)

Full-Text | PDF [2640 KB, uploaded 16 April 2015] |

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Abstract

Mercury concentrations in the environment (river sediments and fish) and in the hair of artisanal gold miners and inhabitants of the Gorontalo Utara Regency were determined in order to understand the status of contamination, sources and their impacts on human health. Mercury concentrations in the sediments along the Wubudu and Anggrek rivers are already above the tolerable level declared safe by the World Health Organization (WHO). Meanwhile, commonly consumed fish, such as snapper, have mercury levels above the threshold limit (0.5 μg/g). The mean mercury concentrations in the hair of a group of inhabitants from Anggrek and Sumalata are higher than those in hair from control group (the inhabitants of Monano, Tolinggula and Kwandang). The mean mercury concentration in the hair of female inhabitants is higher than that in the hair of male inhabitants in each group. Neurological examinations were performed on 44 participants of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) miners and inhabitants of Anggrek and Sumalata. From the 12 investigated symptoms, four common symptoms were already observed among the participants, namely, bluish gums, Babinski reflex, labial reflex and tremor. View Full-Text

Keywords: mercury; ASGM; Gorontalo Utara Regency

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Arifin, Y.I.; Sakakibara, M.; Sera, K. Impacts of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) on Environment and Human Health of Gorontalo Utara Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. Geosciences 2015, 5, 160-176.