Mercury and cyanide exposure and safety practices in Sudanese artisanal gold mining communities, 2022

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) involves informal, small-scale investments in gold mining using low technology. It accounts for 39% of annual mercury emissions, in addition to cyanide emissions. Mercury and cyanide have toxic effects on health and environment, especially from direct exposure. Protective measures and knowledge are crucial for controlling these hazards. We aimed in this study to assess health impacts and knowledge about mercury and cyanide, as well as attitudes regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) among gold miners directly exposed to these toxicants.

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at a mining site in River-Nile State using a self-structured questionnaire. The study included 269 participants, and the data were analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize and present the data.

The mean age was 31 years. Elemental mercury was the mostly used chemical (98.5%), exposure forms included hand and foot handling (64.5%) and vapor (35.5%). Cyanide was used by 7.8%, exposure forms included vapor (60%) and hand handling (50%). The most reported complaints were persistent headache (32%), numbness and tingling (10%), itching (9.5%), and tremors (7%). PPE was not used by 52.5% of participants. The average overall knowledge score was 8.7/17. PPE use was associated with higher overall knowledge and lower prevalence of headache and skin rash (p<0.05). Long daily working hours were associated with headache, while prolonged work duration was associated with numbness (p<0.05).

The majority of participants did not use PPE and had low average overall knowledge about mercury and cyanide toxicity.