Cyanidation of Mercury-Contaminated Tailings: Potential Health Effects and Environmental Justice

• Published in: Current environmental health reports Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 443 - 449
• Main Authors: Drace, Kevin, Kiefer, Adam M., Veiga, Marcello M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amalgamation; Best practice; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Community; Cyanidation; Cyanide process; Environmental Exposure - adverse effects; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental justice; Environmental Pollutants - toxicity; Environmental risk; Gold; Gold mines & mining; Humans; Medicine/Public Health; Mercury; Mercury - analysis; Mercury - toxicity; Mercury pollution; Metals and Health (A Barchowsky; Mine tailings; Mining - methods; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Personal protective equipment; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Section Editor; Social Justice; Tailings; Topical Collection on Metals and Health; Toxicity; Urine; Colombia; Amalgamation; Artisanal and small-scale gold mining; Mercury; Cyanidation
• ISSN: 2196-5412; 2196-5412
• DOI: 10.1007/s40572-016-0113-0

There is a variety of health and environmental issues associated with artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM), which includes concerns regarding mercury pollution. In many countries, intervention programs and policies emphasized the importance of reducing mercury use by focusing on viable alternative methods to amalgamation that may include a transition to cyanidation. ASGM communities that now employ a combination of both methods may be increasing health and environmental risks by using mercury-contaminated tailings in the cyanidation process. This review provides a current overview of mercury and cyanide use in ASGM including the dangers of centralized processing centers that lack best practices. The combination of amalgamation and cyanidation has the potential to adversely affect many ASGM communities around the world and necessitates additional investigations to determine environmental and health impacts.