Rủi ro sức khỏe của các thợ mỏ vàng Vấn đề sức khỏe được tài liệu cho các thợ mỏ vàng, người đã làm việc chủ yếu dưới lòng đất với ít tiếp xúc với nguyên tố thủy ngân ở Australia, Bắc Mỹ, Nam Mỹ, Châu Âu, và châu Phi. Vấn đề lớn đã được nghiên cứu bao gồm tuổi thọ, tần số bệnh ung thư, và các bệnh màng phổi. Vấn đề sức khỏe của những người thợ mỏ làm việc chủ yếu trên bề mặt và tiếp xúc rộng lớn do nguyên tố thủy ngân sử dụng trong amalgamating. | PART 2 Human Health Impacts CHAPTER 7 Health Risks of Gold Miners Health problems are documented for gold miners who worked mainly underground with little exposure to elemental mercury in Australia North America South America Europe and Africa. Major problems examined included life expectancy cancer frequency and pleural diseases. Health problems of miners who worked mainly on the surface and with extensive exposure to elemental mercury owing to its use in amalgamating and extracting gold are reported in Australia the Philippines Brazil and Venezuela emphasis is on mercury residues in tissues air and diet and their significance when compared with existing mercury criteria for human health protection Eisler 2000b 2003 . Health risks to gold miners from the use of cyanide in heap leaching and vat leaching gold recovery techniques were comparatively low unlike effects on wildlife and the landscape Eisler et al. 1999 Eisler 2000a which are discussed in Chapter 11. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Since before recorded time gold has been mined collected from alluvial deposits or separated from the ores of silver copper and other metals Merchant 1998 . Gold is the first metal mentioned in the Old Testament in Genesis 2 11. One gold mine in Saudi Arabia has been mined for more than 3000 years Kirkemo et al. 2001 . Artisans of ancient civilizations used gold lavishly in decorating tombs and temples and gold objects made more than 5000 years ago have been found in Egypt Kirkemo et al. 2001 . Among the most productive gold fields in ancient times were those in Egypt where in the deep mines the slave laborers were maltreated and in Asia Minor near the River Pactolus the source of Croesus wealth. The Romans obtained much of their gold from Transylvania Rose 1948 . Slaves were used to mine gold in Brazil from 1690 to 1850 Lacerda 1997b . From 1850 to 1860 gold production in the United States and Australia was at its peak. In the 1890s the placers of the Canadian Klondike and Alaska .
