ArticleHeliyon2020
Mercury contamination of soil and water media from different illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining operations (galamsey).
Article in Heliyon, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pollution and health risk assessment of drinking water sources within artisanal and small-scale gold mining areas: a case of Asankrangwa District in Ghana.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026Article
- Water, sanitation, and hygiene challenges in last-mile artisanal mining communities in Ghana and Uganda.Dialogues in health · 2025Article
- Review
- Traditional beliefs and willingness to pay for improving a mining-polluted river in Ghana.Heliyon · 2023Article
- Review
- Risk of Heavy Metal Poisoning From Consuming Grasscutter Digesta in Ghana.Environmental health insights · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Environmental media contamination with mercury, because of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining (popularly called galamsey), is a major concern in Ghana; yet specific details as to how such contaminations are influenced or distributed across different galamsey operations have been lacking. We monitored mercury levels across nine different galamsey operations (Washing Board, Washing Plant, Anwona, Dig and Wash, Dredging, Underground Abandoned Shaft, Underground Sample Pit, Chamfi and Mill House) in three hotspot assemblies (Tarkwa Nsuaem, Amenfi East and Prestea Huni Valley) of the Western Region of Ghana. Triplicate samples each of background soil, surface water/drainage, slurry/sludge and galamsey waste materials (totaling 160) were obtained and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) to determine total Hg concentrations. From the comparison of mean ranked concentration of mercury, using the Kruskal-Wallis Test, it was realized that the observed differences in ranking was significant for all four environmental media considered. Thus, the poor handling, usage and disposal of mercury from the different galamsey activities did result in elevation of harmful quantities of mercury into the environment. Overall, the highest median value obtained for mercury was recorded at the Mill House galamsey sites and within slurry/sludge medium. This was followed by Chamfi, Washing Board, Washing Plant, Anwona, Dig and Wash and Dredging in descending order, with the Underground Abandoned Shaft and Underground Sample Pit galamsey types recording values below detection limit. In terms of their contribution to mercury contamination to the environment, Mill House, Chamfi, Anwona, Washing Board and Washing Plant galamsey types recorded the highest mean rankings. Overall, key priority information required for influencing reclamation and cleanup policy decisions for mercury, for the many affected wastelands across the country, can be derived from this paper.
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