Abstract
Mining continues to be a dangerous activity, whether large-scale industrial mining or small-scale artisanal mining. Not only are there accidents, but exposure to dust and toxins, along with stress from the working environment or managerial pressures, give rise to a range of diseases that affect miners. I look at mining and health from various personal perspectives: that of the ordinary man (much of life depends on mined elements in the house, car and phone); as a member of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health (environmental contamination and degradation leads to ill health in nearby communities); as a public health doctor (mining health is affected by many factors, usually acting in a mix, ranging from individual inheritance—genetic makeup, sex, age; personal choices—diet, lifestyle; living conditions—employment, war; social support—family, local community; environmental conditions—education, work; to national and international constraints—trade, economy, natural world); as a volunteer (mining health costs are not restricted to miners or industry but borne by everyone who partakes of mining benefits—all of us); and as a lay preacher (the current global economy concentrates on profit at the expense of the health of miners). Partnership working by academics with communities, government and industry should develop evidence-based solutions. Employment, health, economic stability and environmental protection need not be mutually exclusive. We all need to act.
Highlights
I have spent many years working at the interface between the environment, both natural and built, and health, in both general medical practice and in community-focussed public health practice (e.g. Stewart 1990; Stewart et al 2003; Herm et al 2005; Stewart et al 2010; Mahoney et al 2015; Stewart and Hursthouse 2018)
Recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is increasing, but exposes the recycling workers to complex contaminant mixtures of metalliferous dusts associated with precious metals and rare earth elements, mixed with the organics and plastics found in such equipment that can adversely affect health (Lau et al 2014; Annamalai 2015; Cesaro et al 2018), so needs the same considerations as mining in terms of surveillance and control
While the greatly increased mortality from radon-related lung cancer, probably enhanced by arsenic exposure in the gold mining areas, in uranium miners across Ontario has been reported (Kusiak et al 1993), there has been no investigation reported of whether or not there is a risk to the local human communities from mine tailings and the use of mine waste in building materials, the risk from radon to the ruffed grouse has been assessed around Elliot Lake (Clulow et al 1992)
Summary
I have spent many years working at the interface between the environment, both natural and built, and health, in both general medical (family) practice and in community-focussed public health practice (e.g. Stewart 1990; Stewart et al 2003; Herm et al 2005; Stewart et al 2010; Mahoney et al 2015; Stewart and Hursthouse 2018). Recycling of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is increasing, but exposes the recycling workers to complex contaminant mixtures of metalliferous dusts associated with precious metals and rare earth elements, mixed with the organics and plastics found in such equipment that can adversely affect health (Lau et al 2014; Annamalai 2015; Cesaro et al 2018), so needs the same considerations as mining in terms of surveillance and control.
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