On-the-ground experience would suggest that sound/noise pollution and mercury contamination may be coincidental in artisanal and small-scale gold-mining stakeholders and their bodies. If so, does any literature make explicit this coincidence or explore it further?
Based on my general understanding and opinion only, artisanal and small scale gold mining stake holders are exposed to both noise and mercury pollution at the same time. However, the impact of both kinds of pollution on their bodies depends directly on the techniques being used. For example, a low noise, low mercury way of mining gold would impact less than a high noise, high mercury technique. Note that the impacts are different, as the chemical effects of mercury poisoning are very different to the more physical and potentially psycological effects of noise pollution. Unfortunately, I do not know any literature that explores this coincidence explicitly.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Anatomy