Abstract

Background/Aim: In Tanzania, artisanal and small scale gold mining (ASGM) operations expose entire communities to mercury and arsenic via the water they drink, the food they eat, the soil in which their food is grown, and the air they breathe. Prenatal exposure to mercury and arsenic is associated with reproductive risk factors including still birth, low birth weight, and congenital anomalies, and with poorer developmental outcomes in children.The MIning and Health study is investigating differences in prenatal exposure levels between women who live in ASGM areas and those who do not, and associated reproductive risk and early developmental outcomes of their children.

Method: 1056 pregnant women were recruited during antenatal care clinics visits. For total mercury, a drop of whole blood was collected on filter paper (Whatman #903) following a simple finger prick to obtain a dried blood spot (DBS). For total arsenic, unprovoked morning urine samples were collected. DBS and urine samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Results: Preliminary findings revealed that pregnant women with a history of living in an area with ASGM activities had blood mercury levels that were at least twice as high (95% CI: 0.54-2.4; p<0.0001) as women who had no history of living in ASGM areas. Living in an area with AGSM activities was associated with an increase in urine arsenic level of 54% (95%CI: 1.32-1.8; p<0.0001) compared to those not living in those areas.

Conclusions: Living in ASGM communities was associated with higher blood total mercury and total arsenic levels in pregnant women. These higher blood levels could be associated with increased reproductive risk in the women and poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes in the children, which is the ongoing focus of this study.