Major exposure pathway of mercury in children due to gold mining activity | |
| Author | Shinen, Batdelger |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-05-38 |
| Subject(s) | Gold mines and mining--Thailand--Pichit Mercury in the body Mercury--Toxicology--Thailand--Pichit |
| Note | A thesis submitted in pa1iial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The field survey was conducted at Khao Phanom Pha School located near the gold mining site in Phichit Province. Thailand. The main purpose of this study was to identify the major source of exposure to mercury in children living near the gold mining site, estimate the extent of mercury exposure and the level of concentration, evaluate the health effects on children and review available methods to minimize mercury exposure at Phanom Plia small scale gold mining site. A questionnaire was sent to 59 schoolchildren aged from 3 to 18 years. All participants were surveyed by questionnaire for health history, residence, dietary habits and hygienic behaviour. Fish samples from contaminated site were collected to represent the most frequently consumed species. Mercury concentration was determined in drinking water, Neem tree vegetable and rice samples. Hair mercury and urine creatinine concentrations were determined in scalp hair and urine of 59 school children. The Inductively Coupled Plasma was used to determine the total mercury concentration. Samples were digested in acid medium. Statistical significance of data was computed by Chi Square (X2) test. Moreover, the effect of various independent variables that might influence the mercury concentrations was also studied by crosstab analysis. Results obtained from the questionnaire and laboratory analysis showed that children working in gold mining site after school and frequently consuming fish are the critical group concerning mercury risk. Fish samples were showed levels ranging from 0.14 to 0.46 g/g of total mercury. The urine levels were ranged 20.20-39.6 pg/g creatinine. The mean of mercury concentration in hair was 2.34 g/g. For average school children, dietary exposures to total mercury were 5.25g/kg bw,'week. The results from field study showed that school children would be exposed to mercury due to long term regular consumption of locally grown vegetables, rice and fish |
| Year | 2005 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Preeda Parkpian ; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Visvanathan, C.;Aramaki, Toshiya |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology ; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |