Mercury Exposure and Health Impacts among Individuals in the ASGM Community

Author: WHO
Organization: WHO
Themes: ASGM/NAPs;Health
Language:  English
Year published: 2013

Mercury is used in gold mining to extract gold from ore by forming “amalgam” – a mixture composed of approximately equal parts mercury and gold. Mercury vapors in the air around amalgam burning sites can be alarmingly high and almost always exceed the WHO limit for public exposure. These exposures affect not only ASGM workers but also those in the communities surrounding the processing centers.

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