A FIELD ALERT - Health Effects Associated with Inhalation of Airborne Arsenic Arising from Mining Operations

Health & Safety - Mining, Environmental, & Cybersecurity

Date posted: 09/27/16

Martin, et al., report that arsenic in dust and aerosol generated by mining, mineral processing and metallurgical extraction industries, is a serious threat to human populations throughout the world. Major sources of contamination include smelting operations, coal combustion, hard-rock mining, as well as their associated waste products, including fly ash, mine wastes and tailings. The number of uncontained arsenic-rich mine waste sites throughout the world is of growing concern, as is the number of people at risk of exposure. Inhalation exposures to arsenic-bearing dusts and aerosol, in both occupational and environmental settings, have been definitively linked to increased systemic uptake, as well as carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health outcomes. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to identify human populations and sensitive sub-populations at risk of exposure, and to better understand the modes of action for pulmonary arsenic toxicity and carcinogenesis. In this paper, they explore the contribution of smelting, coal combustion, hard rock mining and their associated waste products to atmospheric arsenic. They also report on the current understanding of the health effects of inhaled arsenic, citing results from various toxicological, biomedical and epidemiological studies. This review is particularly aimed at those researchers engaged in the distinct, but complementary areas of arsenic research within the multidisciplinary field of medical geology. Arsenic is the 20th most abundant element in the earth crust and may be released into the atmosphere as a result of natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Environmental arsenic is released via chemical and physical weathering, biological activity and volcanic emissions, while anthropogenic sources include mining, metal smelting and burning of coal. Annual global arsenic emissions are estimated to be 24,000 t, around 60% originating from copper smelting and coal combustion.