THE ROLE OF PIXE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND EDUCATION OF SMALL-SCALE MINERS OF GOLD

Abstract

Artisanal/small-scale gold mining is one of the important livelhood for deprived people in many countries. The activity is expected to support people's life and activate local economy. However amalgamation method is common to recover gold in this type of mining, and due to this practice, mercury is being released into the natural environment. During the ore treatment process, miners uptake mercury not only by inhalation of the vapor but also by absorption of liquid mercury through the skin. In order to cope with health problems and environmental damages arising from the use of mercury, there should be coordination between national/local government, aid agencies and scientific institutes. In addition, the environmental education and risk communication are keys to mitigate the environmental damage by the miners. For such purpose, quick and precise trace element analysis as a base of discussion on occupational health risk is indispensable and our trial proved that PIXE is one of the most flexible and versatile system. In this paper examples of trial through a Japan-Philippines partnership will be presented.