Abstract
Background: The presence of gold deposits discovered in rural areas in Ghana has attracted a lot of unemployed youth and smallscale mining ventures to the rural communities. The activities of illegal small-scale gold mining (locally referred to as “galamsey”) in the community is causing serious environmental havoc and destruction. The results of heavy element profiling of gold ores associated with the underground artisanal gold mining activities of the Tongo mines in the Upper East Region of Ghana have been reported in this paper. The analysis was made to assess the occupational exposure of the miners as well as to investigate the environmental impact of toxic heavy metals. Results: Gold ores from seven artisanal gold mines were sampled and analysed for heavy elemental content using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy technique. The ranges of major elements detected were: Pb (14.16-37.00 mg/kg); Co (6.40-31.52 mg/kg); As (25.08-27.36 mg/kg); Hg (5.04-6.16 mg/kg); Ni (69.44-332.40 mg/kg); Mn (259.04-528.64 mg/kg) and Cd were Below Detectable Limits (BDL). The potential health risk assessment calculated for a lifetime of exposure for ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact were determined as the cumulative carcinogenic risk for children and adults. Risk assessment indicated that the carcinogenic risk is completely insignificant but the cumulative non-carcinogenic Hazard Index recorded alarming values of 4.55E+00 to 4.15E+01 and 8.53E-01 to 3.43E+01 for children and adults respectively. Conclusions: The investigations show that the concentrations of Pb, As and Ni which are known carcinogens presents no significant carcinogenic lifetime risk due to ingestion, inhalation and/or dermal contact but the non-carcinogenic risk, expressed as the Hazardous Index (HI), is not so benevolent; the cumulative index for all elements exceeding 1 and should be of concern, particularly in cases of the exposure of children. Capsule abstract: The concentrations of elements ranged from 5.04 mg/kg for Hg to 528.64 for Mn with highest Hazard Index being 4.55E+00 to 4.15E+01 and 8.53E-01 to 3.43E+01 for children.
Highlights
The abundance of Gold in most regions in Ghana has led to widespread small scale artisanal mining, a phenomenon popularly referred to as “galamsey” locally
Miners are potentially at risk of exposures to harmful elements such as arsenic, radon etc. which may be present in the ores and mines or introduced as result of mineral processing
Gold ore samples were collected from 7 different mines for analysis
Summary
The abundance of Gold in most regions in Ghana has led to widespread small scale artisanal mining, a phenomenon popularly referred to as “galamsey” locally. This phenomenon has its attendant environmental and social problems such as the wanton destruction of water bodies, other forms of environmental pollution, and escalation in crime rates. One such community where the Galamsey trade is plied is Tongo in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region of Ghana.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
