Risk assessment of arsenic exposure to occupational disease artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites, Bombana Area, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract Anthropogenic activities can lead to heavy metal accumulation in the body, causing heavy metal poisoning and occupational diseases. This study investigated the impact of Arsenic exposure on artisanal gold miners in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The study focused on miners at two Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining sites in Bombana area. The study sample comprises 63 individuals, with 54 individuals representing miners from the Rarowatu and North Rarowatu regions constituting the exposed group and 9 individuals representing non-miners from the Rumbia region forming the control group. Medical examinations and questionnaires were used to identify symptoms of occupational diseases. The As concentrations in human hair samples revealed that miners with over ten years of experience had significantly higher As concentrations (2.67 μg/g) than those exposed to less than ten years of durations (1.26 μg/g). The As concentration in the exposed group (1.61 μg/g) exceeds the World Health Organization guidelines (1 μg/g) and is higher than that of the control group (0.87 μg/g), although not statistically significant (p<0.05). Additionally, there were no significant differences in As concentrations between sick and healthy workers with various symptoms (neurological, respiratory, musculoskeletal, degenerative, and others) (p-values: 0.08, 0.32, 0.69, 0.36, and 0.67, respectively). Long-term Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining miners had higher As exposure, but this study found no clear association between As concentrations and specific occupational diseases.

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