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Douine M, Lambert Y, Plessis L, Jimeno I, Galindo M, Bardon T, Le Tourneau FM, Molinié P, Vié A, Adenis A, Nacher M, Figueira da Silva A, Vreden S, Suarez-Mutis MC, Sanna A. Social determinants of health among people working on informal gold mines in French Guiana: a multicentre cross-sectional survey. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e012991. [PMID: 38103896 PMCID: PMC10729274 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Social determinants of health, such as living and working conditions, economical and environmental context and access to care, combine to impact the health of individuals and communities. In French Guiana (FG), the persons working in informal artisanal and small-scale gold mining in the rainforest are a particularly vulnerable population which lives in precarious conditions and far from the health system. Previous studies have demonstrated their high morbidity due to infectious diseases. This study aims to describe the social determinants of health in this specific population. METHODS This international multicentre cross-sectional survey included people working on the informal FG gold mines at the crossing points located at both borders with Suriname and Brazil. After collecting written informed consent, a structured questionnaire was administered. RESULTS From September to December 2022, 539 gold miners were included. These poorly educated migrants, mainly from Brazil (99.1%) did not have access to drinkable water (95.4%), lived in close contact with wild fauna by hunting, eating bushmeat or being bitten and were exposed to mercury by inhalation (58.8%) or ingestion (80.5%). They report frequent accidents (13.5%) and chronic treatment interruptions (26.6% of the 11.9% reporting chronic treatment). Half of them considered themselves in good health (56.4%). CONCLUSION This study shows a singular combination of adverse exposures of gold miners working in FG such as zoonoses, heavy metal poisoning, aggression of wild fauna. For ethical as well as public health reasons, actions towards health equity must be considered at different levels: individual, community, environmental, systemic and global level. As end users of minerals, we must assume our responsibilities for the well-being of the extractors by including health in political decisions to engage together in global health. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT05540470.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maylis Douine
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Yann Lambert
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Lorraine Plessis
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Irène Jimeno
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Muriel Galindo
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Teddy Bardon
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | | | - Perrine Molinié
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Alexandre Vié
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Antoine Adenis
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | - Mathieu Nacher
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
| | | | - Stephen Vreden
- Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific Research in Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname
| | | | - Alice Sanna
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Antilles-Guyane, CIC Inserm 1424, Centre Hospitalier de Cayenne, Cayenne, French Guiana
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Meutia AA, Bachriadi D, Gafur NA. Environment Degradation, Health Threats, and Legality at the Artisanal Small-Scale Gold Mining Sites in Indonesia. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:6774. [PMID: 37754633 PMCID: PMC10531021 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20186774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM) activities, despite offering numerous economic incentives, inflict negative impacts on the environment and public health due to the use of mercury or cyanide. This study aims to compare three ASGM locations in Indonesia in terms of environmental impacts and potential health problems in the community. As part of this research, field surveys at three ASGM illegal locations with different conditions, observations, literature studies, and interviews with the community and stakeholders were conducted. At each of the survey sites, the potential threat to public health due to the use of mercury was determined to be high. Additionally, many of the environmental impacts detected were deemed to have reached a high-alert stage, in some cases even posing a level of extreme danger. Based on these results, it has become clear that a form of mining management which reduces the negative impacts on the surrounding environment and community health is needed. The suggestions put forward in this paper, including the call for greater control of ASGM, may also be applied in other developing countries which suffer from similar problems and conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ami A. Meutia
- Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan;
| | - Dianto Bachriadi
- Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan;
| | - Nurfitri Abdul Gafur
- Research Center for Environmental and Clean Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Building 820 Geostech, South Tangerang 15341, Banten, Indonesia;
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