Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks

This study investigates the environmental and occupational health risks associated with arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) contamination in a specific industrial site: a mercury mine site that contains a metallurgical plant within its premises. Utilising a comprehensive sampling and analysis approach, As...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rodríguez Díez, Rafael, García González, Hector, Hernández, Zenaida, Sanmiquel Pera, Lluís|||0000-0001-5612-4713
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/415172
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/415172
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16104027
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mineral industries -- Environmental aspects
Mine safety
Environmental toxicology
Mercury mines and mining
Arsenic -- Toxicology
Mercury -- Toxicology
Sustainability
Arsenic contamination
Mercury exposure
Occupational safety
Environmental pollution
Risk assessment
Sustainable mining
Indústria minera -- Aspectes ambientals
Mines -- Mesures de seguretat
Toxicologia ambiental
Mines de mercuri
Arsènic -- Toxicologia
Mercuri -- Toxicologia
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria de mines
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses::Seguretat industrial
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spelling Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risksRodríguez Díez, RafaelGarcía González, HectorHernández, ZenaidaSanmiquel Pera, Lluís|||0000-0001-5612-4713Mineral industries -- Environmental aspectsMine safetyEnvironmental toxicologyMercury mines and miningArsenic -- ToxicologyMercury -- ToxicologySustainabilityArsenic contaminationMercury exposureOccupational safetyEnvironmental pollutionRisk assessmentSustainable miningIndústria minera -- Aspectes ambientalsMines -- Mesures de seguretatToxicologia ambientalMines de mercuriArsènic -- ToxicologiaMercuri -- ToxicologiaÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria de minesÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses::Seguretat industrialThis study investigates the environmental and occupational health risks associated with arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) contamination in a specific industrial site: a mercury mine site that contains a metallurgical plant within its premises. Utilising a comprehensive sampling and analysis approach, As and Hg concentrations in the soil and air across various zones within the site were assessed. The results revealed elevated levels of both contaminants, particularly in areas proximal to industrial processes such as metal smelting and waste disposal. Risk assessment using the Cancer Risk (CR) and Hazard Index (HI) indices demonstrated significant health hazards that exceed regulatory thresholds, indicating potential carcinogenic effects from As exposure and risks of non-cancerous occupational diseases. Three distinct risk areas were identified based on the CR and HI indices, guiding the formulation of tailored risk management strategies. While some zones may permit limited industrial activities under specific conditions, others require stringent safety measures and specialised personal protective equipment (PPE) due to exceptionally high contaminant concentrations. Overall, the findings underscore the critical need for robust safety protocols and regulatory compliance to mitigate the health risks associated with As and Hg exposure in industrial settings, ensuring the protection of worker health, environmental stewardship, and the promotion of sustainable mining practices.The authors would like to thank the program LIFE of the European Commission for the funding received for the project SUBproducts4LIFE (reference LIFE16 ENV/ES/000481).Peer ReviewedMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)20242024-05-1120242024-09-30journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/415172https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16104027reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/4151722026-05-27T15:37:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
title Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
spellingShingle Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
Rodríguez Díez, Rafael
Mineral industries -- Environmental aspects
Mine safety
Environmental toxicology
Mercury mines and mining
Arsenic -- Toxicology
Mercury -- Toxicology
Sustainability
Arsenic contamination
Mercury exposure
Occupational safety
Environmental pollution
Risk assessment
Sustainable mining
Indústria minera -- Aspectes ambientals
Mines -- Mesures de seguretat
Toxicologia ambiental
Mines de mercuri
Arsènic -- Toxicologia
Mercuri -- Toxicologia
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria de mines
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses::Seguretat industrial
title_short Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
title_full Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
title_fullStr Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
title_full_unstemmed Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
title_sort Tackling arsenic and mercury contamination: implications for sustainable mining and occupational health risks
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rodríguez Díez, Rafael
García González, Hector
Hernández, Zenaida
Sanmiquel Pera, Lluís|||0000-0001-5612-4713
author Rodríguez Díez, Rafael
author_facet Rodríguez Díez, Rafael
García González, Hector
Hernández, Zenaida
Sanmiquel Pera, Lluís|||0000-0001-5612-4713
author_role author
author2 García González, Hector
Hernández, Zenaida
Sanmiquel Pera, Lluís|||0000-0001-5612-4713
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mineral industries -- Environmental aspects
Mine safety
Environmental toxicology
Mercury mines and mining
Arsenic -- Toxicology
Mercury -- Toxicology
Sustainability
Arsenic contamination
Mercury exposure
Occupational safety
Environmental pollution
Risk assessment
Sustainable mining
Indústria minera -- Aspectes ambientals
Mines -- Mesures de seguretat
Toxicologia ambiental
Mines de mercuri
Arsènic -- Toxicologia
Mercuri -- Toxicologia
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria de mines
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses::Seguretat industrial
topic Mineral industries -- Environmental aspects
Mine safety
Environmental toxicology
Mercury mines and mining
Arsenic -- Toxicology
Mercury -- Toxicology
Sustainability
Arsenic contamination
Mercury exposure
Occupational safety
Environmental pollution
Risk assessment
Sustainable mining
Indústria minera -- Aspectes ambientals
Mines -- Mesures de seguretat
Toxicologia ambiental
Mines de mercuri
Arsènic -- Toxicologia
Mercuri -- Toxicologia
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria de mines
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Economia i organització d'empreses::Seguretat industrial
description This study investigates the environmental and occupational health risks associated with arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) contamination in a specific industrial site: a mercury mine site that contains a metallurgical plant within its premises. Utilising a comprehensive sampling and analysis approach, As and Hg concentrations in the soil and air across various zones within the site were assessed. The results revealed elevated levels of both contaminants, particularly in areas proximal to industrial processes such as metal smelting and waste disposal. Risk assessment using the Cancer Risk (CR) and Hazard Index (HI) indices demonstrated significant health hazards that exceed regulatory thresholds, indicating potential carcinogenic effects from As exposure and risks of non-cancerous occupational diseases. Three distinct risk areas were identified based on the CR and HI indices, guiding the formulation of tailored risk management strategies. While some zones may permit limited industrial activities under specific conditions, others require stringent safety measures and specialised personal protective equipment (PPE) due to exceptionally high contaminant concentrations. Overall, the findings underscore the critical need for robust safety protocols and regulatory compliance to mitigate the health risks associated with As and Hg exposure in industrial settings, ensuring the protection of worker health, environmental stewardship, and the promotion of sustainable mining practices.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024-05-11
2024
2024-09-30
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2117/415172
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16104027
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/415172
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16104027
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
instname_str Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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