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Human health risk assessment of atmospheric

Cite this: DOI: 10.1039/d0ea00019a
mercury inhalation around three artisanal small-
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scale gold mining areas in Indonesia†

Koyomi Nakazawa, *a Osamu Nagafuchi, *b Tomonori Kawakami, a
Takanobu Inoue, c Rosana Elvince, d Koji Kanefuji,e Isrun Nur,f Mery Napitupulu,g
Muhammad Basir-Cyio,f Hazumu Kinoshitah and Ken'ichi Shinozukaa

Received 10th December 2020
Accepted 4th August 2021
DOI: 10.1039/d0ea00019a
rsc.li/esatmospheres
To clarify the human health risk of inhalation of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), we measured GEM
concentrations in three artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas of Palu (Central Sulawesi,
342 000 residents), Muara Aman (Benkulu in Sumatra, about 1000 residents), and Palangka Raya (Central
Kalimantan, 236 000 residents). These sites differed with regard to the scale and method of gold mining
(ball mill and dredging systems). Although the scale of ASGM activity at these three sites differed for both
the ball mill and dredging methods, gold amalgams were always made during the refining process. The
air in these cities was therefore polluted by the mercury used in extracting the gold, although the levels
of pollution differed. The highest GEM concentrations were measured at gold shops (5
105 ng m3). In
the ASGM activity area, the measured GEM concentrations were high (100–14 000 ng m3) near
grinding drums. GEM concentrations in Palu and Palangka Raya ranged from 2.06 to 375 ng m3 and
2.04 to 25.3 ng m3, respectively. GEM concentrations within an ASGM community area in Muara Aman
ranged from 4.10 to 11.5 ng m3. Our results indicated that the health of residents of Palu—not only in
the ASGM area but also in the city—may be at risk due to GEM inhalation. In Muara Aman, the health of
people who engage in gold refining and of gold shop employees may be at risk, whereas the health of
residents of Palangka Raya appears not to be at risk.

There have been many reports of the mercury pollution of

1. Introduction environmental media such as soil and water2,3 caused by ASGM
Even in very small amounts, mercury is toxic to humans and activities, but the current spatial resolution and range of re-
other animals. Emissions of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) ported GEM concentrations are limited because of the high
from artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activities were costs associated with instruments, electricity, and argon gas, as
estimated to account for 40% of total global GEM emissions in well as the technical training required for use of automated
2015 (ref. 1) and ranked rst among all GEM emissions. monitoring techniques.4 Generally, such equipment cannot be
installed in ASGM areas. Because of the difficulty of measuring
a
Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University,
atmospheric mercury, relatively few studies have focused on
5180, Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama, 9390398, Japan concentrations of GEM in the atmosphere5–13 compared to
b
Fukuoka Institute of Technology, 3-30-1 Wajiro-higashi, Higashiku, Fukuoka 811- studies of mercury in other environmental media and its level of
0295, Japan risk to humans.
c
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of In ASGM areas, miners dig gold ore illegally using relatively
Technology, 1-1, Hibarigaoka, Tenpaku-cho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580, Japan
d
primitive techniques. The reports in several studies of envi-
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Palangka Raya, Tunjung Nyaho Jalan Yos
ronmental pollution caused by mercury at ASGM sites world-
Sudaiso, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, 73111, Indonesia
e
The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-
wide6,7,14–17 have raised concerns of harmful effects on
8562, Japan vulnerable groups such as women and children.18–20 In areas
f
Department of Agroecotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tadulako University, Ji where ASGM operations are closely spaced, nearby residents
Soekarno Hatta Km 09, Palu, Central Sulawesi 94118, Indonesia may be affected because most of the environment can be
g
Science Education Department, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, contaminated by mercury.21 The price of gold increased seven-
Tadulako University, Ji Soekarno Hatta Km 09, Palu, Central Sulawesi 94118,
fold between 2001 (average gold price 230 USD per oz) and 2013
Indonesia
h
(average gold price 1600 USD per oz). Although it has since
Nippon Instruments Co. Ltd., 14-8 Akaojimachi Takatsuki, Osaka 569-1146, Japan
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI:
decreased to 1100–1300 USD per oz, the price of gold is still
10.1039/d0ea00019a much higher than it was in 2001.22 This increase in the price of

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry Environ. Sci.: Atmos.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres
gold has led to a resurgent gold rush in developing counties that
has resulted in an increase of both organic and inorganic
mercury pollution.23–25 Seccatore et al.26 have estimated that the
more than 16 million artisanal miners involved in ASGM
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worldwide in 2011 were producing 380–450 tonnes of gold per
year. A global mercury assessment has estimated that ASGM
releases 830 tonnes (range 675–1000 tonnes) of mercury into the
environment per year.27 The United Nation's Minamata
Convention on Mercury, which became effective in August
2017,28 requires a reduction in the use of mercury and mercury
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compounds at mining sites. However, ASGM activities are
closely related to poverty and thus are likely to continue.
The scale of ASGM activity varies between ASGM sites. Some
ASGM activity is conducted on a relatively large scale, whereas
other ASGM activity is conducted by single families scattered
throughout an area. The tendency of scattered ASGM activities
to be conducted in remote areas makes it difficult to determine
the level of ASGM activity in such areas. Nakazawa et al.7 have
reported that not only residents in communities next to ASGM
activities but also people who live in urban areas more than 5
km away may be at risk. There are various scales and methods of
ASGM, however, and the associated degrees of pollution and
levels of risk are rarely reported. There is thus an urgent need to
clarify the human health risk associated with ASGM.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the human health
risk associated with inhalation of GEM at three ASGM sites in
Indonesia. The three sites differed from each other with respect
to the scale of ASGM activities and the gold-processing method
used. In this study, we focused on ASGM operations that used
the dredging and ball mill methods which are the most popular
methods used in Indonesia.27,29
2. Materials and methods
2.1 Experimental sites
We observed ASGM activities at three sites in Indonesia: the city
of Palu and the village of Muara Aman, where the ball mill
method was used, and the city of Palangka Raya, where the
dredging method was used (Fig. SI1†).
To clarify the human health risk due to GEM inhalation
around the ASGM sites (described in Section 2.4), we assigned
people to four categories: workers in gold processing (group 1),
workers in gold shops (group 2), residents in the ASGM
community (group 3), and residents in a city near the ASGM site
(group 4). We then measured the GEM concentrations in the
ambient air at the following four sites: (1) gold processing sites;
(2) gold shop sites, where the gold–mercury amalgam was
heated with an acetylene torch, and each gold miner was paid
money for the gold that was obtained; (3) ASGM community
sites; and (4) central city sites. We could not measure GEM
concentrations at some sites (indicated by dashes in Table 1)
because there was no contact person who could provide access
to the site.
2.1.1 ASGM area in city of Palu. The city of Palu (0 530 5800 S,
119 510 5900 E) is the capital of Central Sulawesi (Fig. SI1†). It has
a population of 340 000 residents and a total area of 395
km2.30,31 The city, which has a dry climate, is situated between
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hills and lies 130–190 m above sea level around the estuary of
the Palu River at the tip of the long and narrow Palu Bay
(Fig. SI2(a)†). A very large area of ASGM activity, Poboya, is
located about 5 km northeast from the center of Palu.30,31 At
Poboya, miners use the ball mill method to process gold ore
(Fig. 1 (a)), and there are gold shops in Poboya (Fig. SI2(b)†). The
total area associated with ASGM activity is approximately 7000
ha; some of the mining sites are located within the Poboya
Panki Grand Forest Park, where a large gold-mining company
holds a concession granted by the Ministry of Energy and
Mineral Resources. In addition, there is much family-run,
small-scale gold processing activity in this area. A worker at
one gold-processing site reported that about 1500 ball mills
were used in the area.
The survey was conducted at a gold-processing site, an ASGM
community site, and at a central city site in the northern part of
Palu. We were unable to survey a gold shop site in the city of
Palu.
2.1.2 ASGM area in the village of Muara Aman. The village
of Muara Aman is located in the Benkulu district of Sumatra
Island, Indonesia, about 80 km north-northeast of the city of
Benkulu, the district's capital. The village is in a valley that runs
from northeast to southwest between two mountains. Our
survey was conducted in the town area about 4.5 km from the
base of the south side of a mountain (3 60 24.100 –3 70 45.500 S,
102 110 0.0100 –102 110 50.600 E). The estimated population of
Revon County is 106 000, and the population density is 55
people km2.32,33 About 1000 people live in the village of Muara
Aman. Near this community, there is a gold-mining site that
was started by the Dutch a century ago but has since closed.34
However, the people who live in the village of Muara Aman
continue to work this gold-mining site illegally. The ball mill
method was used in this village. The ball mill used at Muara
Aman was smaller than the ball mill used at Poboya and was
motorized by hydropower from a waterwheel (Fig. SI2(c)†). The
sizes of the ball mills are positively correlated with the amount
of mercury used. In many cases, ball mills are operated directly
adjacent to a housing area.
In contrast to the ASGM activity in the city of Palu, the ASGM
activity in the village of Muara Aman was conducted near the
homes of several families. The only ASGM activity we could nd
in this village was conducted by ve or six families, and in most
cases those families used only a few ball mills (Fig. SI2(c)†). We
could not determine how many families were conducting ASGM
activities because they did their work in their backyards.
However, the presence of a ball mill manufacturing company in
the village suggested that more families may have been involved
in ASGM activities in this area.
In the village of Muara Aman, we measured GEM concen-
trations in the air at a gold-processing site (Fig. SI2(c)†), a gold
shop site (Fig. 1(b)), and a site in the community surrounding
the ASGM activity (Fig. SI2(d)†).
2.1.3 ASGM area in city of Palangka Raya. The city of Pal-
angka Raya (2 120 2700 S, 113 540 5900 E) is the capital of Central
Kalimantan Province and is located in the Kahayan River basin.
The Kahayan River is one of the widest rivers (average width of
450 m) in Central Kalimantan and is 600 km long. The 82 km-
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Table 1 Exposure concentration of each site

Parameter Typea Value or probability distribution function (ng m3) Datab St. Noc Methodd

Exposure concentration (EC)

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Palu—ball mill method with large ASGM area

Gold processing D 4080 Fig. 4(a) 4 a
Gold shop — — — — —e
Community area P Geometric mean 5.11; geometric standard deviation 1.70 Fig. SI3(a) 5 b
Central city area P Geometric mean 4.23; geometric standard deviation 1.56 Fig. SI3(b) and (c) 1, 2 and 3 b

Muara Aman—ball mill method with small ASGM

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Gold processing D 1300 Fig. 4(b) 10 a

Gold shop D 177
103 Fig. 4(c)–(e) 11 and 12 a
Community area P Geometric mean 2.46; geometric standard deviation 1.37 Fig. SI3(d) 13 and 15–18 c and d
Central city area — — — — —

Parangka Raya—dreadging system method

Gold processing — — — — —
Gold shop — — — — —
Community area — — — — —
Central city area P Geometric mean 1.94; geometric standard deviation 0.91 Fig. SI3(e) 8 and 9 c and d
a
D deterministic value, P probabilistic distribution function. b Alphabet corresponds to Fig. 4 and SI3. c St. No. (station number) is shown in
Fig. SI1. d Corresponds to Fig. 3(a) portable handheld mercury analyser method, (b) high-resolution measurement method, (c) gold trap
method, and (d) passive sampling method. e “—” we could not obtain a dataset.

sluice boxes, in which gold particles are expected to settle to the

Fig. 1 Details of the measurement sites. (a) Ball mill method in Poboya
near Palu, (b) Mercury–gold amalgam is heated, evaporating the
mercury and leaving gold at a gold shop, (c) dredging operation in the
Kahayan River.
long Rungan River ows into the Kahayan River just north of the
city of Palangka Raya, and the Kahayan River then ows into the
Java Sea (Fig. SI2(e)†). There was no ASGM site in the city of
Palangka Raya. However, there were numerous sites of ASGM
activity along the Kahayan River and Rungan River. The nearest
ASGM site was about 6 km from Palangka Raya. We travelled by
boat along the Kahayan River 150 km downstream from Pal-
angka Raya and found that ASGM activity along the river was
common. In this area gold mining is conducted via sluices.
There are two types of operations. One is an open-pit operation,
and the other involves dredging (Fig. 1(c) and SI2(f)†). Open-pit
operations are conducted as follows. Soils are excavated and
sprayed with a jet of water. Dilute soil is pumped into carpeted
carpet because of their high density. In the dredging method,
bottom sediments from the river are pumped through a pipe
and drained into carpeted sluices boxes. In both operations,
people bring the carpets to a gold shop and wash them into
a bowl. They then add mercury to form an amalgam. Less
mercury is used with the sluice method than with the ball mill
method. In 2004, thousands of gold dredging operations were
being conducted in the Kahayan watershed, and there were 200
more in the Rungan River watershed.35 Mori et al.36 have esti-
mated that the total outows of suspended solids from the
Kahayan River and Rungan River are 5.22
108 kg per year and
2.06
108 kg per year, respectively. Such high discharges of
suspended solids with elemental mercury from ASGM activities
has contaminated the downstream reaches of the rivers.35
Because miners are constantly moving from site to site along
the streams, mercury is dispersed along the streams, and it may
settle into sediments of the rivers.
Although there is no gold-processing site within the city of
Palangka Raya, GEM emitted from ASGM activities conducted
in the upper Kahayan River and Rungan River may affect the air
in Palangka Raya.
In the city of Palangka Raya, we were able to measure GEM
concentrations only at sites in the central city. However, to
measure concentrations of GEM that were emitted from gold
processing or gold shop sites, we measured GEM concentra-
tions from a boat on the Rungan River.
2.2 Field measurements
Field surveys of GEM concentrations were conducted from 21 to
26 December 2017 in the city of Palu, from 6 to 8 March 2011 in
the village of Muara Aman, and in July and August 2007,35,
January and February 2008, and January, August, September,

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November, and December 2009 in central Kalimantan

(Fig. SI1†).
In ASGM areas, we usually did not have access to electricity
or gas, and it was therefore difficult to conduct xed point
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monitoring at a site. Because ASGM activities are usually illegal,

areas associated with ASGM are sometimes unsafe. We there-
fore had to be mindful of the safety of the researchers who were
conducting the eld surveys. In this case, we used four mobile
type survey instruments (Fig. 2): (a) a portable, handheld
mercury analyser; (b) a high-resolution, portable, handheld
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mercury analyser; (c) a gold trap method; and (d) a passive

sampling method.
2.2.1 Portable, handheld mercury analyser. We used
a portable handheld mercury analyser (Cold Vapor Atomic
Absorption Spectroscopy CVAAS, EMP-2, Nippon Instruments
Co., Ltd. Osaka, Japan) to measure high concentrations of GEM
(Fig. 2(a)). The device internally computes an average concen-
tration from values obtained at a sampling frequency of 1 s1.
The coefficient of variation was less than 10% at a GEM of 400
ng m3. The measurement range of the handheld mercury
analyser was from <100 to 999 000 ng m3. This method was
used mainly for GEM measurements at gold-processing sites
and gold-shop sites. Also, because the instrument was portable,
we could measure GEM concentrations as we walked (Fig. 3).
The equipment was calibrated by the manufacturer prior to use.
2.2.2 High-resolution portable handheld mercury ana-
lysing method. The high-resolution portable handheld mercury
analyser used the EMP-2 with a Gold+ unit (Fig. 2(b)). This
portable, handheld, mercury analyser (CVAAS EMP-2 Gold+,
Nippon Instruments) could detect concentrations as low in 10–
20 min at a ow rate of 0.5 L min1. Because this analyser could
measure low GEM concentrations, we used it to measure GEM
concentrations at ASGM community sites and central city sites.
Fig. 2 Atmospheric mercury measured by using four methods: (a)
portable handheld mercury analysing method, (b) high-resolution
portable handheld mercury analysing method, (c) gold trap method,
and (d) passive sampling method.
Fig. 3 Fluctuation of GEM concentrations at ASGM sites. Gold shop
and gold processing sites. (a) GEM concentration of a gold processing
site using the ball mill method in Poboya near Palu (St. 4, Fig. SI1†); (b)
GEM concentration of a gold processing site using the ball mill method
in Muara Aman; (c–e) Inside Muara Aman gold shops6 and for (c), GEM
concentrations when gold amalgam was not being burned.
We were able to place this analyser on a car and measure GEM
concentrations while driving (Fig. SI3(a) and (b)†). We could
also put this analyser near, for example, a ball mill operation
area (Fig. SI3(c)†).
2.2.3 Gold trap method. We used the gold trap
method6,7,37–40 to determine 12 h to 24 h average atmospheric
mercury concentrations (Fig. 2(c)). The device consisted of M-
160 Au traps (Nippon Instruments) made with gold-coated
diatomaceous earth packed in a quartz tube. GEM was
collected using gold traps via gold–mercury amalgamation.
GEM in ambient air was sampled for 12–24 h at a ow rate of
0.5 L per minute with a mini-pump connected to an M-160 Au
trap. GEM absorbed on the M-160 Au traps was quantied with
a mercury analyser (model MA-2000, Nippon Instruments). In
the case of high GEM concentrations in the ambient air, the
sampling time of about 10 min was sufficient to maintain the
accuracy of the analysis. However, this equipment could
measure GEM concentrations over a broad range from low to
high. The Au trap was able to absorb atmospheric mercury from
0 pg to >70 000 pg. In this study, we used this equipment at
gold processing sites, ASGM community sites, and central city
sites (Fig. SI3(e) and (f)†). The instruments were calibrated by
the manufacturer prior to use.
2.2.4 Passive sampling method. The passive sampling
method37–39 was used to determine 24 h average atmospheric
mercury concentrations (Fig. 2(d)). The sampler had two inde-
pendent cavities (inner diameter, 1.4 cm), each of which con-
tained a diffusion bar sampler end cap and lter. The GEM
sampling lter was a 15 mm 4 quartz lter (Tokyo Dylec Co.,

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Paper
Tokyo, Japan) that was coated with gold by means of a vacuum-
deposition process. To prevent the lters from absorbing stray
GEM from the atmosphere, we stored them in a vacuum
desiccator until use. Before each use, the lters were heated for
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30 min at 850  C in a muffle furnace to completely remove any
contaminating GEM. Whether we used this passive sampling
equipment depended on the circumstances at the observation
site, such as the expected GEM concentration range and
whether we were able to obtain permission from the miners and
residents to install the equipments. We used this equipment at
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community sites (Fig. SI3(d)†) to characterize the spatial
distribution of GEM in the air. Aer sampling was conducted by
the gold trap method and passive sampling method, we ana-
lysed the samples via heat-vaporization atomic absorption
spectrometry (model MA-2000, Nippon Instruments).
2.3 Quality assurance/quality control
Quality assurance/quality control was carried out by analysing
standard reference materials obtained from the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology: trace elements in pine nee-
dles (Pinus taeda) 1575a and reference material no. 482 trace
elements in lichens. The percentage recoveries for Hg were
89.3% and 91.4%, respectively, of the reference material values.
2.4 Human health risk assessment method
The human health risk associated with the GEM concentrations
measured at the survey sites was evaluated based on the Hazard
Quotient (HQ),41–43 which was equated to the ratio of the average
inhalation concentration to the reference concentration as
follows:
EC
HQinh ¼ (1)
RfC
where HQinh is the hazard quotient for contaminated air via
inhalation, EC is the average exposure concentration (ng m3),
and RfC is the reference concentration (ng m3).
The potential for effects other than cancer to occur was
assessed by comparing the exposure concentration or average
concentration during inhalation of GEM with the correspond-
ing reference concentration (RfC). The RfC (mg m3 in ambient
air) was considered to be a safe threshold for the general pop-
ulation. The non-carcinogenic health risk was expressed in
terms of the HQ for GEM.41 In this study, the reference
concentration associated with chronic exposure via inhalation
was set to the general atmospheric value of 300 ng m3 as
elemental mercury, as reported in the Integrated Risk Infor-
mation System of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.44
That publication denes a critical effect as a hand tremor,
increase in memory disturbance, or slight subjective or objec-
tive evidence of autonomic dysfunction.
The average daily exposure concentration for a person who
lives in the same place for a whole year was calculated as
follows:
Cair
ET
EF
ED
EC ¼ (2)
AT
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where EC (mg m3) ¼ exposure concentration; Cair (mg m3) ¼
contaminant concentration in air; ET (hours per day) ¼ expo-
sure time; EF (days per year) ¼ exposure frequency; ED (years) ¼
exposure duration; and AT (ED in years
365 days per year
24
hours per day) ¼ averaging time (hours).
However, when a person stayed at several places, the average
EC for the period of residency was calculated using a Cair value
that was an average of the mercury concentrations in the air of
each microenvironment (ME) weighted by the amount of time
spent in each ME:
X
n

ECj ¼ ðCair i
ETi
EFi Þ
EDj ATj (3)
i¼1
where ECj (mg m3) is the average exposure concentration for
the period of exposure j; Cair j (mg m3) is the contaminant
concentration in air in ME i; ETi (hours per day) is the exposure
time spent in ME i; EFi (days per year) is the exposure frequency
for ME i; EDj (years) is the exposure duration for exposure
period j; and ATj (hours) is the averaging time and equals EDj

24 hours per day
365 days per year.
2.5 Monte Carlo simulations
Because the parameters that described the GEM concentrations
in the study areas were not constant, we performed a Monte
Carlo simulation to determine the condence limits of the
calculated GEM concentrations and the associated risks. To
perform the probabilistic risk assessment, we assumed a log-
normal distribution for each parameter. Using the average
and standard deviation (SD) of the log-normal distribution of
the dataset for each parameter, we conducted random Monte
Carlo simulations of the GEM concentrations at the gold pro-
cessing sites, gold shop sites, ASGM community site, and
central city site. Random Monte Carlo simulations were per-
formed with Crystal Ball soware (Oracle Co., KKE Inc., Japan,
Tokyo). We used a Latin square sampling method with 10 000
iterations to dene the probabilistic distribution.45 The 95th
percentile value was generally used as the reasonable maximum
exposure value, and we used that value in this study for risk
assessment.
3. Results and discussion
3.1 GEM concentrations in study areas
3.1.1 City of Palu. On the roadside in the ASGM area within
the city of Palu, the GEM concentrations tended to be high (St.
5; Fig. SI3(a)†). The GEM concentrations near a ball mill varied
from <100 to 14 000 ng m3 (Fig. 3(a)). Because a renery with
a ball mill is oen operated in a hut with only a simple roof, the
GEM emitted from the ball mill can easily be dispersed over
a wide area, and the concentrations vary greatly. GEM concen-
trations along roadsides in the areas where ball mill reneries
operated were as high as 5500 ng m3 (Fig. SI3(a)†). At Poboya,
the ASGM community site near the city of Palu (St. 5 in Fig. 1),
many ball mills operated side by side, and there were small
communities and city residents nearby. At the site of the ASGM
community, there were more than 10 gold shops on one street.
Environ. Sci.: Atmos.

Environmental Science: Atmospheres
In front of the shops, children were playing, as shown in
Fig. SI2(b).† Children at the ASGM community site may have
been at risk from exposure to high GEM concentrations.
The GEM concentration at St. 3 (city of Palu) ranged between
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2.05 and 376 ng m3 (mean  SD ¼ 155  152 ng m3, n ¼ 18;
Fig. SI3(c)†). The GEM concentrations that we measured while
driving along the shore from St. 1 to St. 3 were quite variable,
but we could not detect a trend in the concentrations (Fig.-
SI3(b)†). During 2010–2012 (ref. 7) and even in 2017, ASGM
activity continued in Poboya. The daily average concentration
observed during 2010–2012 in this area was 524  420 ng m3.7
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We observed GEM concentrations during the daytime in this
study. The direction of the wind in Palu is determined by the
strengths of the sea breeze and mountain breeze. GEM
concentrations would probably tend to be relatively low in the
daytime,7 when the sea breeze is dominant. The concentrations
observed in this study may therefore have been lower than the
average daily concentration.
3.1.2 Village of Muara Aman. GEM concentrations in the
two gold shops (St. 10 and St. 11) in Muara Aman uctuated
greatly (Fig. 3(c)–(e)). The highest concentration of 6.13
105
ng m3 was measured around the burning table when amalgam
was not being burned (Fig. 3(c)). The concentration was 2.12

106 ng m3 when an acetylene torch was being used to heat the
mercury–gold amalgam (Fig. 1(b)). The measured concentration
was 1.11
106 ng m3 above the bowl and 2.19
105 ng m3
near the burning table (Fig. 3(d)). At 1, 2, and 3 m away from the
burning table, the concentration decreased to 0.80–2.19
105
ng m3, 1.50–2.53
105 ng m3, and 0.01–1.11
105 ng m3,
respectively (Fig. 3(d)). At 4 m away from the burning table, the
concentration dramatically decreased to below the limit of
detection of the portable, handheld mercury analyser.
These measurements indicate that the health risk was high
for employees of the two gold shops, each of which was only
about 25 m2 in area. The employees were working without any
protective device. Because of various limitations, measurements
could not be made at gold shops in Palu and Palangka Raya.
However, we conrmed that amalgam was burned indoors or in
front of a store using a drum can as a chimney.
A family of gold smelters lived next to the ball mill operation.
Similarly, the families of some gold shop owners lived in the
shops and may have been exposed to high concentrations of
GEM. In the area of Muara Aman where there was no ASGM
activity, GEM concentrations ranged from 4.10 to 11.5 ng m3
(mean  SD ¼ 6.84  2.72 ng m3; Fig. SI3(d)†).
3.1.3 City of Palangka Raya. Because there is much gold
dredging activity in the basins of the Kahayan River and Rungan
River upstream of Palangka Raya, both river water and sedi-
ments may have been contaminated by mercury.35 ASGM
activity may also have contaminated the air along both rivers.
The GEM concentrations measured by the gold trap method
on a boat in the Rungan River were 122 and 1470 ng m3
(Fig. SI3(f),† St. 6 and 7). There were more dredging operations
in the Kahayan River basin than in the Rungan River basin.
GEM was also detectable in the air above the mainstream of the
Kahayan River. The wind along the river usually blows from
upstream to downstream from midnight to early in the
Environ. Sci.: Atmos.
View Article Online
Paper
morning. Therefore, a plume of air containing high concen-
trations of GEM due to upstream ASGM activity may ow
downstream to Palangka Raya. This possibility raises concerns
about the human health risk associated with inhalation of
GEM. We therefore established two observation sites in the
center of Palangka Raya (St. 8 and St. 9).
The GEM concentrations at St. 8 and St. 9 ranged from 2.04
to 25.3 ng m3 (mean  SD ¼ 6.65  5.41 ng m3) and 8.90 to
167 ng m3 (mean  SD ¼ 44.3  68.8 ng m3), respectively,
with the exception of one anomalous measurement of 167 ng
m3 at St. 9 (Fig. SI3(e)†). At St. 8, GEM concentrations were
1.85–19.5 times the background level of 1.10–1.30 ng m3 in an
uncontaminated area of the Southern Hemisphere.50 We
observed high GEM concentrations, regardless of the method
and scale of ASGM activity.
3.2 Parameterization of probabilistic distribution for input
variables
Parameterization of the exposure assessment model involved
the selection of a dataset and derivation of the probability
density function for the input variables. In eqn (2) and (3), the
concentration of GEM in the air (Cair) is the critical input vari-
able for assessing the average daily exposure concentration
(EC). The datasets for exposure estimation were obtained from
our eld surveys. Table 1 lists the GEM concentrations at the
gold processing sites, gold shop site, ASGM community sites,
and three ASGM areas in central city sites. Each EC value was
estimated from a deterministic equation or log-normal proba-
bilistic distribution function. The Hg concentrations at gold
processing facilities and gold shops were measured over a time
interval of one second with a portable handheld mercury ana-
lyser. We therefore averaged the values and reported them as
deterministic values. For Hg concentrations in community
areas and central city areas, we estimated probabilistic values.
Before calculating the EC values, we applied a Shapiro–Wilk test
to conrm that the log-transformed GEM atmospheric
concentrations were normally distributed (i.e. that the original
datasets followed a log-normal distribution). We log-
transformed the GEM data and then applied the Shapiro–Wilk
test to the dataset. The hypothesis of normality was rejected.
However, the dataset of GEM concentrations that were obtained
in 2010–2012 in Palu (n ¼ 60)7 were judged to be normally
distributed. Concentrations in environmental media are usually
log-normally distributed aer dilution.46 In general, a log-
normal distribution is empirically useful for risk assessment
because it cannot take negative values and should t the data
better than a normal distribution.47
Based on this logic, we therefore assumed that the dataset
was log-normally distributed.
3.3 Framework of risk analysis
Based on a preliminary survey, we categorized the people who
worked in areas surrounding ASGM operations into four
groups. Workers who engaged in gold processing (group 1) and
gold shop employees (group 2) may have been directly exposed
to GEM during their work. In many cases, ASGM activity was
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry
 View Article Online

Paper Environmental Science: Atmospheres

conducted at a residential site, where residents who lived near Table 2 Exposure time used for human health risk estimation
sites of ASGM activity (group 3) may have been exposed to GEM.
ET: (hours per day)
In places like Palu and Palangka Raya, there were very large
urban sites next to ASGM operations, and people who lived in Person Group Typea Place: hours per day
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.

such urban areas were dened as Group 4. To estimate human

health risks, we used the measured atmospheric GEM concen- Palu city area
Worker in gold processing 1 D Gold processing: 24
trations and the results of informal interviews. Based on this
Worker in gold processing 2 — —
information, the distribution of each parameter (Cair and ET in Residents in community 3 D Community area: 24
eqn (1)–(3)) for risk analysis was determined. Residents in central city area 4 D City area: 24
As discussed in Section 3.2, the average daily concentration
Muara Aman village area
Open Access Article. Published on 23 August 2021. Downloaded on 9/17/2021 9:58:34 AM.

was used for the value of the exposure concentration. Because

Worker in gold processing 1 D Gold processing: 24
the concentrations observed at the gold processing site (Fig. 3(a)
Worker in gold processing 2 D Gold shop: 8
and (b)) and gold shop site (Fig. 3(c)–(e)) were instantaneous City area: 16
values, we averaged all the data and dened the average to be Residents in community 3 D Community area: 24
the average daily exposure concentration (EC). We monitored Residents in central city area 4 — —
the ASGM community site (Fig. SI3(a) and (d)†) in a spatially
Palanka Raya city area
uniform manner. The gold processing operation continued for
Worker in gold processing 1 — —
24 h throughout the day. The spatial distribution of GEM that Worker in gold processing 2 — —
we documented may therefore apply to the entire ASGM Residents in community 3 — —
community area. Although the GEM concentration that we Residents in central city area 4 D City area: 24
measured was a 15 min average value, we assumed that this a
D deterministic value.
value was the average daily exposure concentration (EC). Like-
wise, at the ASGM community site, the GEM concentration
observed at the central city site (Fig. SI3(b) and (e)†) was used as For group 1, the differences between the gold shop sites in
the average daily exposure concentration (EC). Table 1 provides the Palu and Muara Aman areas were the size and number of
details about the GEM concentration dataset and exposure time ball mills. The ball mill method is used at both of these sites,
data used for the risk assessment. but the ball mill that is used in the Muara Aman area is smaller
To calculate exposure times (ETs), we assumed that workers than that in the Poboya area of Palu. The difference of the size of
in gold processing (group 1) stayed 24 h per day in the same the ball mill is related to the amount of mercury that is used.
place (gold processing site). Because a gold processing opera- Usually, Regardless of ball mill size, people in group 1 at both
tion is a family-run business, the workplace is located next to sites were at risk. Most miners believe that the more mercury
the living space. Gold processing usually continues for 24 h per they add to the mixture, either in the ball mill or during
day. The climate of Indonesia is characterized by a rainy season panning, the more gold they will recover. In reality, that is not
and a dry season, and because the temperature and humidity the case.48 Although we did not gather data on the amount of
are always high, housing in this area is well ventilated. Also, mercury being used at each site, there is a need for appropriate
residents of the ASGM community as well as residents of the city amounts of mercury to be used. For group 2, we could observe
area were assumed to stay in the same place 24 h per day. The only the Muara Aman area, where there was a concern about
workers in the gold shop (group 2) were assumed to work 8 h in human health risk. In this paper, we estimated the human
the gold shop and to return to their homes in the city area for health risk of chronic inhalation of GEM. The United States (US)
16 h per day. Table 2 provides details of assumed exposure Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has
times. Interview surveys must generally be conducted by
appropriate methods and require appropriate samples.
However, in this study, we could not obtain an appropriate
number of samples for interviews. To conduct pre-screening
risk assessment, we set ET values based on information from
the residents.

3.4 Assessment of the human health risk from inhalation of

mercury
The results of our assessment of human health risk due to
exposure to GEM via inhalation are shown in Fig. 4 and Table 3.
The HQinh (the 95th percentile of the probabilistic value or the
deterministic value) for groups 1, 3, and 4 in Palu were 7.82,
4.93, and 1.67, respectively. The HQinh for groups 1 and 2 in Fig. 4 Estimation of human health risk caused from GEM inhalation
Muara Aman were 4.33 and 197. All of these groups were at risk exposure. In the figure, extremely high values were excluded, but
of experiencing health effects from GEM inhalation. about 99% of predicted values are included.

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry Environ. Sci.: Atmos.
 View Article Online

Environmental Science: Atmospheres Paper

Table 3 Summary of the risk analysis GEM concentrations should continue to be monitored to
lessen the human health risk from GEM inhalation in urban
Site Group HQ Risk concern
areas. Even in the urban area of Palu, human health may be at
Palu 1 7.82 Yes risk. The residents who lived in Palu may have been at risk in
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.

2 — Unknown 2012,7 and our ndings revealed that this risk has persisted to
3 4.93a Yes the present day (2021).
4 1.67a Yes Some of the datasets we have reported were collected as long
Muara Aman 1 4.33 Yes
2 197 Yes
ago as 2007 and 2011. Satellite photographs,52 however, have
3 0.24a No indicated that ASGM activity still continues and is expanding
4 — — around Poboya, and ASGM activity is still continuing in the
—
Open Access Article. Published on 23 August 2021. Downloaded on 9/17/2021 9:58:34 AM.

Paranka Raya 1 Unknown Palangka Raya area.27 Although the Minamata convention on
2 — Unknown mercury became effective in August 2017, these facts indicate
3 — Unknown
4 0.07a No
the difficulty of reducing ASGM activities. Our survey was con-
ducted in the Palu area in 2017, where people have used the
a
The HQ value is the hazard quotient when the probabilistic same method for ASGM since we rst visited Palu in 2010. Such
distribution function is adopted for the gaseous elemental mercury
concentrations. In such cases, the 95 percentile value of HQ is shown. observations indicate that GEM emissions to the atmosphere
due to ASGM may be increasing.

promulgated a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.10 mg m3

as total mercury.50 Some of our measured concentrations were 4. Conclusions
higher than the US OSHA PEL. In addition, OSHA recognizes
GEM pollution is associated with all scales and methods of
that many of its PELs are outdated and inadequate for ensuring
ASGM activity. Our research revealed human health risk via
protection of worker health. Most of OSHA's PELs were issued
GEM inhalation. At gold shops, gold amalgam is burned using
shortly aer adoption of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
an acetylene torch in a simple dra to obtain crude gold. We
in 1970 and have not been updated since that time.51 The
observed high GEM concentrations in these shops, and there
concentration of mercury in the air that is fatal to humans has
was reason for concern about the risks to human health in such
not been reported, but for animals (dog) the fatal concentration
places. Immediate measures, such as preparing a dra and
has been reported to be 15–20
106 ng m3.49 The threshold
collecting mercury using a small retort29,53,54 should be taken to
value for an acceptable GEM concentration is 0.05
106 ng
minimize the risks to human health from such activity.
m1,3 but mercury-induced acute pneumonia occurs when
Many environmental and social problems have been re-
a person is exposed to a concentration of 1–2
106 ng m3 for
ported at sites of large-scale ASGM activity.17,19,23,55–57 In devel-
several hours.49 The highest concentration measured inside
oping countries, ASGM activity occurs at various scales. Large
a gold shop was equal to the concentration that induces pneu-
ASGM operations can be found easily, but small, family-
monia. There should also be concern about the acute toxicity of
operated ASGM facilities are not obvious, and the associated
the GEM in gold shops to workers.
human health problem is thus easily overlooked. Unfortunately,
For group 3, a human health risk was noted in the Palu area
it is difficult to stop ASGM activity in impoverished regions.
(Poboya) but not in the Muara Aman area. This difference may
Improved mercury recovery systems and environmental educa-
reect the difference in the number of ball mill operations in
tion programs will be needed to reduce the human health risk
each area, because the ASGM area is more extensive in Poboya
associated with these operations.57
than in Muara Aman. For group 2, regardless of ball mill size or
number of ball mills, there were concerns about human health
risks, and for group 3, who live in areas of very high ASGM Authors contributions
activity (Poboya, Palu area), there were concerns about human
health risks. Koyomi Nakazawa: conceptualization, eld measurement,
For group 4, there was concern about human health risks only sample analysis, data analysis, writing, Osamu Nagafuchi:
in Palu. Although there were no concerns about human health for conceptualization, eld measurement, sample analysis, Tomo-
group 4 in Palangka Raya, the observed GEM concentrations nori Kawakami: eld measurement, data analysis, Takanobu
there ranged from 2.04 to 167 ng m3, and those concentrations Inoue: eld measurement, writing, Rosana Elvince: eld
were 1.85 to 152 times the background level of 1.10–1.30 ng measurement, survey arrangement, Koji Kanefuji: data analysis,
m3.43 There is much ASGM dredging activity conducted in the Isrun Nur: eld measurement, Mery Napitululu: survey
Kahayan and Rungan River basins just upstream of Palangka arrangement, Muhammad Basir-Cyio: survey arrangement,
Raya. We measured GEM concentrations in the center of Pal- Hazumu Kinoshita: eld measurement, sample analysis,
angka Raya, and we assumed that the dataset represented the Ken'ichi Shinozuka: data analysis.
GEM concentrations in the center of Palangka Raya. In this study,
we could not observe the seasonal variations that would be
revealed by a more extensive study. Immediate measures should
Conflicts of interest
be undertaken to reduce GEM concentrations in these areas. The authors declare no conicts of interest in this research.

Environ. Sci.: Atmos. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Paper
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Dr Hery Suhartoyo, Dr Faiz Bachia,
and the students in Bengkulu University, Indonesia. Also, we
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.
would like to thank Nippon Instruments., Co. Ltd., Japan, for
use of the EMP-2. We also thank the following foundations for
their support: Environmental Research and Technology Devel-
opment Fund of Japan (B-1008; 2010–2012, JPMEERF20205R03;
2020–2022); Mitsui Co., Ltd Environmental fund (grant No. 07-
290) (2008–2010); Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Open Access Article. Published on 23 August 2021. Downloaded on 9/17/2021 9:58:34 AM.
KAKENHI (Grants 224013, 2051007 and 26257301); Steel
Foundation for Environmental Protection Technology; and The
Institute of Statistical Mathematics (H30-2-2058, H28-J-4308,
H29-J-4110).
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PAPER

Untuk memperjelas risiko kesehatan manusia dari menghirup gas unsur merkuri (GEM),
kami mengukur GEM konsentrasi di tiga wilayah pertambangan emas rakyat (ASGM) Palu
(Sulawesi Tengah, 342.000 penduduk), Muara Aman (Bengkulu di Sumatera, sekitar 1000
penduduk), dan Palangkaraya (Kalimantan Tengah, 236.000 penduduk). Lokasi-lokasi ini berbeda
dalam hal skala dan metode penambangan emas (ball mill dan sistem pengerukan). Meskipun skala
kegiatan ASGM di ketiga lokasi ini berbeda untuk keduanya ball mill dan metode pengerukan,
amalgam emas selalu dibuat selama proses pemurnian. Oleh karena itu, udara di kota-kota ini
tercemar oleh merkuri yang digunakan untuk mengekstraksi emas, meskipun kadar polusinya
berbeda. Konsentrasi GEM tertinggi diukur di toko emas (5 x 105 ng m-3). Di dalam area aktivitas
ASGM, konsentrasi GEM yang diukur tinggi (100–14.000 ng m-3) di dekat drum penggilingan.
Konsentrasi GEM di Palu dan Palangkaraya berkisar antara 2,06 hingga 375 ng m-3 dan 2,04
hingga 25,3 ng m-3, masing-masing. Konsentrasi GEM dalam area komunitas ASGM di Muara
Aman berkisar dari 4,10 hingga 11,5 ng m-3. Hasil kami menunjukkan bahwa kesehatan warga
Palu—tidak hanya di area ASGM tetapi juga di kota—mungkin berisiko karena menghirup GEM.
Di Muara Aman, kesehatan orang yang terlibat dalam pemurnian emas dan karyawan toko emas
mungkin berisiko, sedangkan kesehatan penduduk Palangkaraya tampaknya tidak berisiko.

1. Pendahuluan
Bahkan dalam jumlah yang sangat kecil, merkuri beracun bagi manusia dan hewan lainnya.
Emisi gas unsur merkuri (GEM) dari kegiatan penambangan emas skala kecil (ASGM) rakyat
adalah diperkirakan menyumbang 40% dari total emisi GEM global di 2015 (ref. 1) dan menempati
peringkat pertama di antara semua emisi GEM.
Ada banyak laporan tentang pencemaran merkuri dari media lingkungan seperti tanah dan
2,3
air yang disebabkan oleh aktivitas ASGM, tetapi resolusi ruang saat ini dan jangkauan
konsentrasi GEM yang dilaporkan terbatas karena tingginya biaya yang terkait dengan instrumen,
listrik, dan gas argon, sebagai pelatihan teknis yang diperlukan untuk penggunaan otomatis teknik
pemantauan. Umumnya, peralatan tersebut tidak dapat dipasang di area ASGM. Karena sulitnya
mengukur merkuri atmosfer, relatif sedikit penelitian yang berfokus pada konsentrasi GEM di
atmosfer5–13 dibandingkan dengan studi merkuri di media lingkungan lainnya dan tingkat risiko
bagi manusia.
Di daerah ASGM, penambang menggali bijih emas secara ilegal dengan menggunakan
relatif teknik primitif. Laporan dalam beberapa penelitian tentang pencemaran lingkungan yang
disebabkan oleh merkuri di lokasi ASGM di seluruh dunia6,7,14–17 telah menimbulkan kekhawatiran
tentang efek berbahaya pada kelompok rentan seperti perempuan dan anak-anak.18–20 Di daerah di
mana operasi ASGM berjarak dekat, penduduk terdekat mungkin terpengaruh karena sebagian
besar lingkungan dapat terkontaminasi merkuri.21 Harga emas meningkat tujuh kali lipat antara
tahun 2001 (harga emas rata-rata 230 USD per oz) dan 2013 (harga emas rata-rata 1600 USD per
oz). Meskipun sudah menurun menjadi 1100-1300 USD per ons, harga emas tetap jauh lebih tinggi
daripada tahun 2001.22 Kenaikan harga emas ini telah menyebabkan kebangkitan demam emas di
negara-negara berkembang yang telah mengakibatkan peningkatan baik organik dan anorganik
polusi merkuri.23–25 Seccatore et al.26 telah memperkirakan bahwa lebih dari 16 juta penambang
rakyat terlibat dalam ASGM seluruh dunia pada tahun 2011 memproduksi 380–450 ton emas per
tahun. Penilaian merkuri global memperkirakan bahwa ASGM melepaskan 830 ton (kisaran 675–
1000 ton) merkuri ke dalam lingkungan per tahun.27 Minamata PBB Konvensi Merkuri, yang
mulai berlaku pada bulan Agustus 2017,28 membutuhkan pengurangan penggunaan merkuri dan
senyawa merkuri di lokasi penambangan. Namun, kegiatan ASGM terkait erat dengan kemiskinan
dan dengan demikian kemungkinan besar akan terus berlanjut.
Skala aktivitas ASGM bervariasi antar lokasi ASGM. Beberapa aktivitas ASGM dilakukan
dalam skala yang relatif besar, sedangkan kegiatan ASGM lainnya dilakukan oleh keluarga tunggal
yang tersebar di seluruh area. Kecenderungan kegiatan ASGM yang tersebar dilakukan di daerah
terpencil membuat sulit untuk menentukan tingkat kegiatan ASGM di daerah tersebut. Nakazawa
et al.7 mengatakan bahwa tidak hanya penduduk di komunitas di sebelah aktivitas ASGM tetapi
juga orang-orang yang tinggal di daerah perkotaan lebih dari 5 km jauhnya mungkin berisiko. Ada
berbagai skala dan metode ASGM, bagaimanapun, dan terkait derajat polusi dan tingkat risiko
jarang dilaporkan. Dengan demikian ada kebutuhan mendesak untuk mengklarifikasi risiko
kesehatan manusia yang terkait dengan ASGM.
Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk memperjelas risiko kesehatan manusia yang terkait
dengan inhalasi GEM di tiga lokasi ASGM di Indonesia. Tiga situs berbeda satu sama lain dengan
skala kegiatan ASGM dan metode pengolahan emas yang digunakan. Dalam penelitian ini, kami
fokus pada operasi ASGM yang menggunakan metode pengerukan dan ball mill yang paling
populer yang digunakan di Indonesia.

2. Bahan-bahan dan metode-metode

2.1 Situs eksperimental
Kami mengamati kegiatan ASGM di tiga lokasi di Indonesia: Kota Palu dan Desa Muara
Aman, dimana metode ball mill yang digunakan, dan kota Palangkaraya menggunakan metode
pengerukan (Gbr. SI1†). Untuk memperjelas risiko kesehatan manusia akibat inhalasi GEM di
sekitar lokasi ASGM (dijelaskan di Bagian 2.4), kami menugaskan orang menjadi empat kategori:
pekerja di pengolahan emas (kelompok 1), pekerja di toko emas (grup 2), warga di ASGM
komunitas (kelompok 3), dan penduduk di kota dekat lokasi ASGM (kelompok 4). Kami kemudian
mengukur konsentrasi GEM di sekitar udara di empat lokasi berikut: (1) lokasi pengolahan emas;
(2) lokasi toko emas, dimana amalgam emas-merkuri dipanaskan dengan obor asetilen, dan setiap
penambang emas dibayar uang untuk emas yang diperoleh; (3) lokasi komunitas ASGM; dan (4)
lokasi pusat kota. Kami tidak dapat mengukur GEM konsentrasi di beberapa lokasi (ditunjukkan
dengan tanda hubung pada Tabel 1) karena tidak ada contact person yang bisa memberikan akses
ke lokasi.
2.1.1 Area ASGM di Kota Palu.
 Kota Palu (0°53’58”S, 119°51’59”E) adalah ibukota Sulawesi Tengah (Gbr. SI1†).
Memiliki populasi 340.000 penduduk dan luas total 395 km2.30,31 Kota yang beriklim kering ini
terletak diantara perbukitan dan terletak 130–190 m di atas permukaan laut di sekitar muara Sungai
Palu di ujung Teluk Palu yang panjang dan sempit (Gbr. SI2(a)†). Area kegiatan ASGM yang
sangat luas, Poboya terletak sekitar 5 km timur laut dari pusat kota Palu.30,31 Di Poboya,
penambang menggunakan metode ball mill untuk mengolah bijih emas (Gbr. 1 (a)), dan ada toko
emas di Poboya (Gbr. SI2(b)†). Total area yang terkait dengan aktivitas ASGM adalah sekitar
7000 Ha; beberapa lokasi penambangan terletak di dalam Poboya Taman Hutan Raya Panki,
dimana perusahaan pertambangan emas besar memiliki konsesi yang diberikan oleh Kementerian
Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral. Selain itu, ada banyak yang dikelola oleh keluarga, kegiatan
pengolahan emas skala kecil di daerah ini. Seorang pekerja di satu lokasi pemrosesan emas
melaporkan bahwa sekitar 1500 ball mills digunakan di daerah tersebut. Survei dilakukan di lokasi
pengolahan emas, sebuah ASGM situs komunitas, dan di lokasi pusat kota di bagian utara Palu.
Kami tidak dapat mensurvei lokasi toko emas di kota Palu.
2.1.2 Area ASGM di Desa Muara Aman
Desa Muara Aman terletak di Provinsi Bengkulu Pulau Sumatera, Indonesia, sekitar 80 km
utara-timur laut Kota Bengkulu, ibu kota kabupaten. Desa itu berada di lembah yang mengalir dari
timur laut ke barat daya antara dua gunung. Survei kami dilakukan di wilayah kota sekitar 4,5 km
dari dasar sisi selatan gunung (3°6’24.1”–3°7’45.5”S, 102°11’0,01”-102°11’50.6”E). Perkiraan
populasi Kabupaten Revon adalah 106.000, dan kepadatan penduduk adalah 55 orang km-2.32,33
Sekitar 1000 orang tinggal di desa Muara Aman. Dekat komunitas ini, ada lokasi penambangan
emas yang dimulai oleh Belanda seabad yang lalu tetapi sudah tutup.34Namun, masyarakat yang
tinggal di desa Muara Aman terus bekerja di lokasi penambangan emas ini secara ilegal. Ball mill
yang digunakan di desa ini (Muara Aman) lebih kecil dari ball mill yang digunakan di Poboya dan
digerakkan oleh tenaga air dari kincir air (Gbr. SI2(c)†). Ukuran pabrik bola berkorelasi positif
dengan jumlah merkuri yang digunakan. Dalam banyak kasus, ball mill dioperasikan secara
langsung berdekatan dengan kawasan perumahan.
Berbeda dengan kegiatan ASGM di Kota Palu, aktivitas ASGM di Desa Muara Aman
dilakukan di dekat rumah beberapa keluarga. Satu-satunya kegiatan ASGM yang dapat kami
temukan di desa ini dilakukan oleh lima atau enam keluarga, dan sebagian besar kasus keluarga
tersebut hanya menggunakan beberapa ball mill (Gbr. SI2(c)†). Kita tidak dapat menentukan
berapa banyak keluarga yang melakukan aktivitas ASGM karena mereka melakukan pekerjaan
mereka di halaman belakang mereka. Namun, adanya perusahaan manufaktur ball mill di desa
menyarankan agar lebih banyak keluarga yang terlibat dalam kegiatan ASGM di daerah ini.
Di desa Muara Aman, kami mengukur konsentrasi GEM di udara di lokasi pemrosesan
emas (Gbr. SI2(c)†), lokasi toko (Gbr. 1(b)), dan lokasi di komunitas sekitar aktivitas ASGM (Gbr.
SI2(d)†).
2.1.3 Area ASGM di Kota Palangkaraya
Kota Palangkaraya (2°12’27”S, 113°54’59”E) adalah ibu kota Provinsi Kalimantan
Tengah dan terletak di DAS Kahayan. Sungai Kahayan adalah salah satu sungai terluas (lebar rata-
rata 450 m) di Kalimantan Tengah dan panjangnya 600 km. Sungai Rungan sepanjang 82 km
mengalir ke Sungai Kahayan di utara kota Palangkaraya, dan Sungai Kahayan kemudian mengalir
ke Laut Jawa (Gbr. SI2(e)†). Tidak ada lokasi ASGM di kota Palangkaraya. Namun, ada banyak
lokasi aktivitas ASGM di sepanjang Sungai Kahayan dan Sungai Rungan. Lokasi ASGM paling
dekat berjarak sekitar 6 km dari Palangkaraya. Kami bepergian dengan perahu di sepanjang Sungai
Kahayan 150 km ke hilir dari Palangkaraya dan menemukan bahwa aktivitas ASGM di sepanjang
sungai itu umum. Di daerah ini penambangan emas dilakukan melalui pintu air. Ada dua jenis
operasi. Salah satunya adalah operasi tambang terbuka, dan yang lainnya melibatkan pengerukan
(Gbr. 1(c) dan SI2(f)†). Lubang terbuka operasi dilakukan sebagai berikut. Tanah digali dan
disemprot dengan semburan air. Tanah encer dipompa ke dalam kotak pintu air berkarpet, di mana
partikel emas diharapkan mengendap di karpet karena kepadatannya yang tinggi. Dalam metode
pengerukan, sedimen dasar dari sungai dipompa melalui pipa dan ditiriskan ke dalam kotak pintu
air berkarpet. Dalam kedua operasi, orang-orang membawa karpet ke toko emas dan mencuci
mangkuknya. Mereka kemudian menambahkan merkuri untuk membentuk amalgam. Lebih
sedikit merkuri digunakan dengan metode pintu air daripada dengan metode ball mill. Pada tahun
2004, ribuan operasi pengerukan emas dilakukan di DAS Kahayan, dan ada 200 lebih banyak di
DAS Rungan.35 Mori et al.36 telah memperkirakan bahwa total aliran keluar padatan tersuspensi
dari Sungai Kahayan dan Sungai Rungan adalah 5,22 x 108 kg per tahun dan 2,06 x 108 kg per
tahun, berturut-turut. Debit yang begitu tinggi dari padatan tersuspensi dengan unsur merkuri dari
kegiatan ASGM telah mencemari bagian hilir sungai. 35Karena penambang terus berpindah dari
satu lokasi ke lokasi lainnya sungai, merkuri tersebar di sepanjang sungai, dan mungkin
mengendap di sedimen sungai.
Meskipun tidak ada tempat pemrosesan emas di dalam kota Palangkaraya, GEM terpancar
dari kegiatan ASGM yang dilakukan di hulu Sungai Kahayan dan Sungai Rungan dapat
mempengaruhi udara di Palangkaraya.
Di kota Palangkaraya, kami bisa mengukur GEM konsentrasi hanya di lokasi di pusat kota.
Namun, untuk mengukur konsentrasi GEM yang dipancarkan dari emas lokasi pengolahan atau
toko emas, kami mengukur konsentrasi GEM dari perahu di Sungai Rungan.
2.2 Pengukuran lapangan
Survei lapangan konsentrasi GEM dilakukan dari 21 hingga 26 Desember 2017 di kota
Palu, dari tanggal 6 sd 8 Maret 2011 di desa Muara Aman, dan pada bulan Juli dan Agustus 2007,35,
Januari dan Februari 2008, serta Januari, Agustus, September, November, dan Desember 2009 di
Kalimantan Tengah (Gbr. SI1†).
Di daerah ASGM, kami biasanya tidak memiliki akses listrik atau gas, dan karena itu sulit
untuk melakukan titik tetap pemantauan di suatu lokasi. Karena kegiatan ASGM biasanya ilegal,
area yang terkait dengan ASGM terkadang tidak aman. Oleh karena itu, kami harus
memperhatikan keselamatan para peneliti yang melakukan survei lapangan. Dalam hal ini, kami
menggunakan empat ponsel jenis instrumen survei (Gbr. 2): (a) portabel, genggam penganalisis
merkuri; (b) resolusi tinggi, portabel, genggam penganalisis merkuri; (c) metode perangkap emas;
dan (d) pasif metode pengambilan sampel.
2.2.1 Portabel, penganalisis merkuri genggam
Kami menggunakan penganalisis merkuri genggam portabel (Cold Vapor Atomic
Spektroskopi Penyerapan CVAAS, EMP-2, Instrumen Nippon Co., Ltd. Osaka, Jepang) untuk
mengukur konsentrasi tinggi GEM (Gbr. 2(a)). Perangkat secara internal menghitung konsentrasi
rata-rata dari nilai yang diperoleh pada frekuensi pengambilan sampel 1 s -1. Koefisien variasi
kurang dari 10% pada GEM 400 ng m-3. Rentang pengukuran merkuri genggam analyzer adalah
dari <100 hingga 999.000 ng m-3. Metode ini adalah digunakan terutama untuk pengukuran GEM
di lokasi pemrosesan emas dan lokasi toko emas. Juga, karena instrumen itu portabel, kita bisa
mengukur konsentrasi GEM saat kita berjalan (Gbr. 3). Peralatan dikalibrasi oleh manufaktur
sebelum digunakan.
2.2.2 Metode analisis merkuri genggam portabel beresolusi tinggi
Merkuri genggam portabel beresolusi tinggi analyzer menggunakan EMP-2 dengan unit
Gold+ (Gbr. 2(b)). Ini portabel, genggam, penganalisis merkuri (CVAAS EMP-2 Gold+, Nippon
Instruments) dapat mendeteksi konsentrasi serendah 10–20 menit pada laju aliran 0,5 L min-1.
Karena penganalisa ini bisa mengukur konsentrasi GEM rendah, kami menggunakannya untuk
mengukur konsentrasi GEM di lokasi komunitas ASGM dan lokasi pusat kota. Kami dapat
menempatkan penganalisis ini di mobil dan mengukur konsentrasi GEM saat mengemudi (Gbr.
SI3(a) dan (b)†). Kita bisa juga menempatkan penganalisis ini di dekat, misalnya, operasi ball mill
luas (Gbr. SI3(c)†).
2.2.3 Metode perangkap emas
Kami menggunakan metode jebakan emas 6,7,37–40 untuk menentukan atmosfer rata-rata 12
jam hingga 24 jam konsentrasi merkuri (Gbr. 2(c)). Perangkat ini terdiri dari perangkap M-160 Au
(Instrumen Nippon) yang dibuat dengan lapisan emas tanah diatom dikemas dalam tabung kuarsa.
GEM dikumpulkan menggunakan perangkap emas melalui amalgamasi emas-merkuri. GEM di
udara sekitar diambil sampelnya selama 12-24 jam pada laju aliran 0,5 L per menit dengan pompa
mini yang terhubung ke M-160 Au perangkap. GEM yang diserap pada perangkap Au M-160
dihitung dengan penganalisis merkuri (model MA-2000, Nippon Instruments). Di dalam kasus
konsentrasi GEM yang tinggi di sekeliling udara, waktu pengambilan sampel sekitar 10 menit
sudah cukup untuk mempertahankan keakuratan analisis. Namun, peralatan ini bisa mengukur
konsentrasi GEM pada rentang yang luas dari rendah hingga tinggi. Perangkap Au mampu
menyerap merkuri atmosfer dari ~0 hal hingga >70 000 hal. Dalam penelitian ini, kami
menggunakan peralatan ini di lokasi pengolahan emas, lokasi komunitas ASGM, dan lokasi pusat
kota (Gbr. SI3(e) dan (f)†). Instrumen dikalibrasi dengan pabrikan sebelum digunakan.
2.2.4 Metode pengambilan sampel pasif
Metode sampel pasif37–39 digunakan untuk menentukan atmosfer rata-rata 24 jam
konsentrasi merkuri (Gbr. 2(d)). Sampler memiliki dua rongga independen (diameter dalam, 1,4
cm), yang masing-masing berisi tutup ujung sampler batang difusi dan filter. GEM penyaring
sampel adalah penyaring kuarsa 15 mm φ (Tokyo Dylec Co., Tokyo, Jepang) yang dilapisi dengan
emas melalui proses deposisi vakum. Untuk mencegah filter GEM menyerap keluar dari atmosfer,
kami menyimpannya di ruang hampa desikator sampai digunakan. Sebelum digunakan, filter
dipanaskan selama 30 menit pada 850°C dalam tungku peredam untuk menghilangkan semua
mencemari GEM. Apakah kami menggunakan pengambilan sampel pasif peralatan ini tergantung
pada keadaan di lokasi pengamatan, seperti kisaran konsentrasi GEM yang diharapkan dan apakah
kami bisa mendapatkan izin dari para penambang dan warga untuk memasang peralatan tersebut.
Kami menggunakan peralatan ini di lokasi komunitas (Gbr. SI3(d)†) untuk mengkarakterisasi
distribusi ruang GEM di udara. Setelah pengambilan sampel dilakukan oleh metode perangkap
emas dan metode pengambilan sampel pasif, kami menganalisis sampel melalui penyerapan atom
penguapan panas spektrometri (model MA-2000, Instrumen Nippon).
2.3 Jaminan kualitas/kontrol kualitas
Penjaminan mutu/kontrol kualitas dilakukan dengan menganalisis bahan referensi standar
yang diperoleh dari Institut Standar dan Teknologi Nasional: elemen jejak dalam jarum pinus
(Pinus taeda) 1575a dan bahan referensi no. 482 jejak unsur dalam lumut. Persentase perolehan
kembali untuk Hg adalah 89,3% dan 91,4%, masing-masing, dari nilai bahan referensi.
2.4 Metode penilaian risiko kesehatan manusia
Risiko kesehatan manusia yang terkait dengan konsentrasi GEM diukur di lokasi survey
dievaluasi berdasarkan Hazard Quotient (HQ), 41–43 yang disamakan dengan rasio rata-rata
konsentrasi inhalasi ke konsentrasi referensi sebagai berikut:
EC
HQinh =
RfC

dimana HQinh adalah hasil bagi bahaya untuk udara yang terkontaminasi melalui inhalasi, EC
adalah konsentrasi paparan rata-rata (ng m-3), dan RfC adalah konsentrasi referensi (ng m-3).
Potensi terjadinya efek selain kanker adalah dinilai dengan membandingkan konsentrasi paparan
atau rata-rata konsentrasi selama inhalasi GEM dengan konsentrasi referensi yang sesuai (RfC).
RfC (mg m-3 di udara sekitar) dianggap sebagai ambang batas yang aman untuk populasi umum.
Risiko kesehatan non-karsinogenik dinyatakan dalam hal HQ untuk GEM.41 Dalam penelitian ini,
referensi konsentrasi yang terkait dengan paparan kronis melalui inhalasi diatur ke nilai atmosfer
umum 300 ng m-3 sebagai unsur merkuri, seperti yang dilaporkan dalam Sistem Informasi Risiko
Terintegrasi dari Badan Perlindungan Lingkungan AS. 44 Publikasi itu mendefinisikan efek kritis
sebagai getaran tangan, peningkatan gangguan memori, atau sedikit bukti subjektif atau objektif
disfungsi otonom.
Konsentrasi paparan harian rata-rata untuk orang yang tinggal di tempat yang sama selama
satu tahun penuh dihitung sebagai berikut:
Cair × ET × EF × ED
EC = AT

dimana EC (µg m-3) konsentrasi paparan; Cair (µg m-3) = konsentrasi kontaminan di udara; ET (jam
per hari) waktu pemaparan; EF (hari per tahun) frekuensi paparan; ED (tahun) durasi paparan; dan
AT (ED dalam tahun x 365 hari per tahun x 24 jam per hari) waktu rata-rata (jam).
 Namun, ketika seseorang tinggal di beberapa tempat, rata-rata EC untuk periode residensi
dihitung menggunakan nilai Cair itu adalah rata-rata konsentrasi merkuri di udara setiap lingkungan
mikro (ME) ditimbang dengan jumlah waktu dihabiskan di setiap ME:
n EDj
ECj = ∑j=1(Cair j × ETj × EFj) × ATj

dimana ECj (µg m-3) adalah konsentrasi paparan rata-rata untuk periode paparan j; Cair j (µg m-3)
adalah kontaminan konsentrasi di udara dalam ME i; ETi (jam per hari) adalah eksposur waktu
yang dihabiskan di ME i; EFi (hari per tahun) adalah frekuensi paparan untuk ME i; EDj (tahun)
adalah durasi paparan untuk paparan periode j; dan AT j (jam) adalah waktu rata-rata dan sama
dengan EDj x 24 jam per hari x 365 hari per tahun.
2.5 Simulasi Monte Carlo
Karena parameter yang menggambarkan konsentrasi GEM di daerah penelitian tidak
konstan, kami melakukan Monte Simulasi Carlo untuk menentukan batas kepercayaan dari
menghitung konsentrasi GEM dan risiko terkait. Untuk melakukan penilaian risiko probabilistik,
kami mengasumsikan distribusi normal log untuk setiap parameter. Menggunakan rata-rata dan
standar deviasi (SD) dari distribusi log-normal dari dataset untuk setiap parameter, kami
melakukan Monte. acak Simulasi Carlo konsentrasi GEM di lokasi pemrosesan emas, lokasi took
emas, lokasi komunitas ASGM, dan situs pusat kota. Simulasi Monte Carlo acak dilakukan dengan
Tokyo). Kami menggunakan metode sampling Latin square dengan 10.000 iterasi untuk
menentukan distribusi probabilistik.45 95th nilai persentil umumnya digunakan sebagai nilai
maksimum yang masuk akal nilai eksposur, dan kami menggunakan nilai itu dalam penelitian ini
untuk risiko penilaian.
3. Hasil dan Pembahasan
3.1 Konsentrasi GEM di wilayah studi
3.1.1 Kota Palu.
Di pinggir jalan di area ASGM di dalam kota Palu, konsentrasi GEM cenderung tinggi (St.
5; Gambar. SI3(a)†). Konsentrasi GEM di dekat ball mill bervariasi dari <100 hingga 14.000 ng
m-3 (Gbr. 3(a)). Karena kilang dengan ball mill sering dioperasikan di gubuk yang hanya memiliki
atap sederhana, GEM yang dipancarkan dari ball mill dapat dengan mudah tersebar daerah yang
luas, dan konsentrasinya sangat bervariasi. Konsentrasi GEM di sepanjang tepi jalan di area tempat
penyulingan ball mill dioperasikan setinggi 5500 ng m-3 (Gbr. SI3(a)†). Di Poboya, lokasi
komunitas ASGM di dekat kota Palu (St. 5 pada Gambar 1), banyak ball mill beroperasi
berdampingan, dan ada yang kecil masyarakat dan penduduk kota di sekitarnya. Di lokasi ASGM
komunitas, ada lebih dari 10 toko emas di satu jalan. Di depan toko, anak-anak sedang bermain,
seperti terlihat pada gambar Gambar. SI2(b).† Anak-anak di lokasi komunitas ASGM mungkin
memiliki berisiko dari paparan konsentrasi GEM yang tinggi. Konsentrasi GEM di St. 3 (Kota
Palu) berkisar antara 2,05 dan 376 ng m-3 (rata-rata ± SD 155 ± 152 ng m-3, n 18; Gambar. SI3(c)†).
Konsentrasi GEM yang kami ukur saat mengemudi di sepanjang pantai dari St. 1 ke St. 3 cukup
bervariasi, tetapi kami tidak dapat mendeteksi tren dalam konsentrasi (Gbr.- SI3(b)†). Selama
2010–2012 (ref. 7) dan bahkan di 2017, ASGM kegiatan dilanjutkan di Poboya. Konsentrasi rata-
rata harian diamati selama 2010–2012 di area ini adalah 524 ± 420 ng m-3.7 Kami mengamati
konsentrasi GEM pada siang hari di tempat ini belajar. Arah angin di Palu ditentukan oleh kekuatan
angin laut dan angin gunung. GEM konsentrasi mungkin akan cenderung relatif rendah di siang
hari,7 saat angin laut dominan. Konsentrasi diamati dalam penelitian ini karena itu mungkin lebih
rendah dari konsentrasi rata-rata harian.
3.1.2 Desa Muara Aman
Konsentrasi GEM di dua toko emas (St. 10 dan St. 11) di Muara Aman berfluktuasi sangat
(Gbr. 3(c)–(e)). Konsentrasi tertinggi 6,13 x 105 ng m-3 diukur di sekitar meja yang terbakar saat
amalgam tidak terbakar (Gbr. 3(c)). Konsentrasinya adalah 2,12 x 106 ng m-3 ketika obor asetilen
digunakan untuk memanaskan amalgam merkuri-emas (Gbr. 1(b)). Konsentrasi terukur adalah
1,11 x 106 ng m-3 di atas mangkuk dan 2,19 x 105 ng m-3 dekat meja pembakaran (Gbr. 3(d)). Pada
jarak 1, 2, dan 3 m dari meja yang terbakar, konsentrasinya turun menjadi 0,80–2,19 x 105 ng m-3,
1,50–2,53 x 105 ng m-3, dan 0,01–1,11 x 105 ng m-3 , berturut-turut (Gbr. 3(d)). Pada jarak 4 m dari
meja yang terbakar, konsentrasi menurun drastis hingga di bawah batas deteksi portabel,
penganalisis merkuri genggam.
Pengukuran ini menunjukkan bahwa risiko kesehatannya tinggi untuk karyawan dari dua
toko emas, yang masing-masing hanya luas sekitar 25 m2. Para karyawan bekerja tanpa perangkat
pelindung. Karena berbagai keterbatasan, pengukuran tidak bisa dibuat di toko emas di Palu dan
Palangkaraya. Namun, kami mengkonfirmasi bahwa amalgam dibakar di dalam ruangan atau di
dalam depan toko menggunakan kaleng drum sebagai cerobong asap.
Sebuah keluarga peleburan emas yang tinggal di sebelah operasi ball mill. Demikian pula,
beberapa keluarga pemilik toko emas yang tinggal di toko dan mungkin telah terkena konsentrasi
tinggi dari GEM di daerah Muara Aman yang tidak ada aktivitas ASGM, konsentrasi GEM
berkisar antara 4,10 hingga 11,5 ng m-3 (rata-rata ± SD 6,84 ± 2,72 ng m-3 ; Gambar. SI3(d)†).
3.1.3 Kota Palangka Raya
Karena ada banyak emas kegiatan pengerukan di cekungan Sungai Kahayan dan Rungan
Hulu sungai Palangkaraya, baik air sungai maupun sedimennya kemungkinan telah tercemar
merkuri.35 Aktivitas ASGM mungkin juga telah mencemari udara di sepanjang kedua sungai.
Konsentrasi GEM diukur dengan metode perangkap emas di atas perahu di Sungai Rungan adalah
122 dan 1470 ng m-3 (Gbr. SI3(f),† St. 6 dan 7). Ada lebih banyak operasi pengerukan di DAS
Kahayan dibandingkan di DAS Rungan. GEM juga dapat dideteksi di udara di atas arus utama
Sungai Kahayan. Angin di sepanjang sungai biasanya bertiup dari hulu ke hilir dari tengah malam
hingga dini hari. Oleh karena itu, gumpalan udara yang mengandung GEM konsentrasi tinggi
karena aktivitas ASGM hulu dapat mengalir hilir ke Palangkaraya. Kemungkinan ini menimbulkan
kekhawatiran tentang risiko kesehatan manusia yang terkait dengan inhalasi GEM Oleh karena itu
kami mendirikan dua lokasi pengamatan di pusat kota Palangkaraya (St. 8 dan St. 9). Konsentrasi
GEM di St. 8 dan St. 9 berkisar antara 2,04 hingga 25,3 ng m-3 (rata-rata ± SD 6,65 ± 5,41 ng m
3
) dan 8,90 hingga 167 ng m-3 (rata-rata ± SD 44,3 ± 68,8 ng m-3), masing-masing, dengan
pengecualian satu pengukuran anomali 167 ng m-3 di St. 9 (Gbr. SI3(e)†). Di St. 8, konsentrasi
GEM adalah 1,85-19,5 kali tingkat latar belakang 1,10-1,30 ng m-3 dalam area yang tidak
terkontaminasi di Belahan Bumi Selatan.50 Kami mengamati konsentrasi GEM yang tinggi,
terlepas dari metodenya dan skala kegiatan ASGM.
3.2 Parameterisasi distribusi probabilistik untuk input variabel
Parameterisasi model penilaian eksposur yang terlibat pemilihan dataset dan derivasi dari
probabilitas fungsi kepadatan untuk variabel input. Dalam persamaan (2) dan (3), konsentrasi
GEM di udara (Cair) adalah variabel masukan penting untuk menilai konsentrasi paparan harian
rata-rata (EC). Dataset untuk estimasi eksposur diperoleh dari: survei lapangan. Tabel 1
mencantumkan konsentrasi GEM di lokasi pengolahan emas, lokasi toko emas, lokasi komunitas
ASGM, dan tiga area ASGM di lokasi pusat kota. Setiap nilai EC adalah diperkirakan dari
persamaan deterministik atau fungsi distribusi probabilistik log-normal. Konsentrasi Hg pada
emas fasilitas pemrosesan dan toko emas diukur dari waktu ke waktu interval satu detik dengan
penganalisis merkuri genggam portabel. Oleh karena itu, kami membuat rata-rata nilai dan
melaporkannya sebagai nilai deterministik. Untuk konsentrasi Hg dalam komunitas daerah dan
daerah pusat kota, kami memperkirakan nilai probabilistik. Sebelum menghitung nilai EC, kami
menerapkan tes Shapiro–Wilk untuk mengkonfirmasi bahwa atmosfer GEM yang ditransformasi
log konsentrasi terdistribusi secara normal (yaitu bahwa yang asli kumpulan data mengikuti
distribusi log-normal). Kami mengubah log data GEM dan kemudian menerapkan Shapiro–Wilk
uji ke dataset. Hipotesis normalitas ditolak. Namun, dataset konsentrasi GEM yang diperoleh tahun
2010–2012 di Palu (n 60)7 dinilai normal didistribusikan. Konsentrasi pada media lingkungan
biasanya terdistribusi log-normal setelah pengenceran.46 Secara umum, distribusi log-normal
secara empiris berguna untuk penilaian risiko karena tidak dapat mengambil nilai negatif dan harus
sesuai dengan data lebih baik dari distribusi normal.47
Berdasarkan logika ini, oleh karena itu kami mengasumsikan bahwa kumpulan data
terdistribusi log-normal.
3.3 Kerangka analisis risiko
Berdasarkan survei pendahuluan, kami mengkategorikan orang-orang yang: bekerja di area
sekitar operasi ASGM menjadi empat kelompok. Pekerja yang terlibat dalam pengolahan emas
(kelompok 1) dan karyawan toko emas (grup 2) mungkin telah terpapar GEM secara langsung
selama bekerja. Dalam banyak kasus, kegiatan ASGM dilakukan di lokasi perumahan, dimana
warga yang tinggal di dekat lokasi kegiatan ASGM (kelompok 3) mungkin telah terkena GEM. Di
tempat-tempat seperti Palu dan Palangkaraya, jumlahnya sangat besar lokasi perkotaan di sebelah
operasi ASGM, dan orang-orang yang tinggal di daerah perkotaan tersebut didefinisikan sebagai
Kelompok 4. Untuk memperkirakan manusia risiko kesehatan, kami menggunakan konsentrasi
GEM atmosfer yang diukur dan hasil wawancara informal. Berdasarkan ini informasi, distribusi
setiap parameter (Cair dan ET di persamaan (1)–(3)) untuk analisis risiko ditentukan.
Seperti yang dibahas dalam Bagian 3.2, konsentrasi harian rata-rata digunakan untuk nilai
konsentrasi paparan. Karena konsentrasi yang diamati di lokasi pemrosesan emas (Gbr. 3(a) dan
(b)) dan lokasi toko emas (Gbr. 3(c)–(e)) terjadi seketika nilai, kami rata-rata semua data dan
mendefinisikan rata-rata menjadi konsentrasi paparan harian rata-rata (EC). Kami memantau
lokasi komunitas ASGM (Gbr. SI3(a) dan (d)†) secara spasial dengan cara yang seragam. Operasi
pemrosesan emas berlanjut selama 24 jam sepanjang hari. Distribusi spasial GEM yang kami
didokumentasikan karena itu dapat berlaku untuk seluruh daerah komunitas ASGM. Meskipun
konsentrasi GEM yang kita diukur adalah nilai rata-rata 15 menit, kami berasumsi bahwa ini nilai
adalah konsentrasi paparan harian rata-rata (EC). Demikian pula, di lokasi komunitas ASGM,
konsentrasi GEM diamati di lokasi pusat kota (Gbr. SI3(b) dan (e)†) digunakan sebagai
konsentrasi paparan harian rata-rata (EC). Tabel 1 menyediakan detail tentang kumpulan data
konsentrasi GEM dan waktu pemaparan data yang digunakan untuk penilaian risiko.
Untuk menghitung waktu pemaparan (ETs), kami mengasumsikan bahwa pekerja dalam
pemrosesan emas (kelompok 1) tinggal 24 jam per hari di tempat yang sama tempat (tempat
pengolahan emas). Karena operasi pemrosesan emas adalah bisnis yang dijalankan keluarga,
tempat kerja terletak di sebelah ruang hidup. Pemrosesan emas biasanya berlangsung selama 24
jam per hari. Iklim di Indonesia ditandai dengan musim hujan dan musim kemarau, dan karena
suhu dan kelembapan selalu tinggi, perumahan di daerah ini berventilasi baik. Juga, penduduk
komunitas ASGM serta penduduk kota daerah diasumsikan tinggal di tempat yang sama 24 jam
per hari. Pekerja di toko emas (kelompok 2) diasumsikan bekerja 8 jam dalam toko emas dan
kembali ke rumah mereka di daerah kota untuk 16 jam per hari. Tabel 2 memberikan rincian
eksposur yang diasumsikan waktu. Survei wawancara umumnya harus dilakukan oleh: metode
yang tepat dan memerlukan sampel yang sesuai. Namun, dalam penelitian ini, kami tidak dapat
memperoleh jumlah sampel untuk wawancara. Untuk melakukan pra-penyaringan penilaian risiko,
kami menetapkan nilai ET berdasarkan informasi dari penduduk.
3.4 Penilaian risiko kesehatan manusia dari menghirup Merkuri/Air Raksa
Hasil penilaian kami terhadap risiko kesehatan manusia karena paparan GEM melalui
inhalasi ditunjukkan pada Gambar. 4 dan Tabel 3. HQinh (persentil ke-95 dari nilai probabilistik
atau nilai deterministik) untuk kelompok 1, 3, dan 4 di Palu adalah 7,82, 4,93, dan 1,67, masing-
masing. Markas Besar untuk grup 1 dan 2 in Muara Aman adalah 4,33 dan 197. Semua kelompok
ini berisiko mengalami efek kesehatan dari inhalasi GEM. Untuk grup 1, perbedaan antara lokasi
toko emas di daerah Palu dan Muara Aman adalah ukuran dan jumlah ball mill. Metode ball mill
digunakan di kedua lokasi ini, tapi ball mill yang digunakan di area Muara Aman lebih kecil
dibandingkan di daerah Poboya Palu. Perbedaan ukuran ball mill terkait dengan jumlah merkuri
yang digunakan. Biasanya, terlepas dari ukuran ball mill, orang-orang di grup 1 di kedua lokasinya
berada dalam risiko. Kebanyakan penambang percaya bahwa semakin banyak merkuri mereka
menambahkan ke dalam campuran, baik di ball mill atau selama panning, semakin banyak emas
yang akan mereka pulihkan. Pada kenyataannya, itu tidak kasus.48 Meskipun kami tidak
mengumpulkan data tentang jumlah merkuri yang digunakan di setiap lokasi, ada kebutuhan untuk
jumlah merkuri yang akan digunakan. Untuk kelompok 2, kita bisa mengamati hanya daerah
Muara Aman, dimana ada kekhawatiran tentang risiko kesehatan manusia. Dalam makalah ini,
kami memperkirakan manusia risiko kesehatan dari inhalasi kronis GEM. Amerika Serikat (AS)
Administrasi Keselamatan dan Kesehatan Kerja (OSHA) telah mengumumkan batas paparan yang
diizinkan (PEL) sebesar 0,10 mg m-3 sebagai total merkuri.50 Beberapa konsentrasi terukur kami
adalah lebih tinggi dari US OSHA PEL. Selain itu, OSHA mengakui bahwa banyak dari PEL-nya
sudah usang dan tidak memadai untuk memastikan perlindungan kesehatan pekerja. Sebagian
besar PEL OSHA diterbitkan segera setelah adopsi Undang-Undang Keselamatan dan Kesehatan
Kerja pada tahun 1970 dan belum diperbarui sejak saat itu.51 konsentrasi merkuri di udara yang
berakibat fatal bagi manusia tidak dilaporkan, tetapi untuk hewan (anjing) konsentrasi yang fatal
telah dilaporkan menjadi 15-20 x 106 ng m-3.49 Ambang batas nilai untuk konsentrasi GEM yang
dapat diterima adalah 0,05 x 106 ng m-1, 3 tetapi pneumonia akut yang diinduksi merkuri terjadi
ketika seseorang terkena konsentrasi 1–2 x 106 ng m-3 selama beberapa jam.49 Konsentrasi tertinggi
diukur di dalam toko emas sama dengan konsentrasi yang menyebabkan pneumonia. Juga harus
ada kekhawatiran tentang toksisitas akut dari GEM di toko emas untuk pekerja. Untuk kelompok
3, risiko kesehatan manusia tercatat di wilayah Palu (Poboya) tapi tidak di daerah Muara Aman.
Perbedaan ini mungkin mencerminkan perbedaan dalam jumlah operasi ball mill di masing-masing
wilayah, karena wilayah ASGM lebih luas di Poboya dibandingkan di Muara Aman. Untuk grup
2, terlepas dari ukuran ball mill atau jumlah pabrik bola, ada kekhawatiran tentang kesehatan
manusia risiko, dan untuk kelompok 3, yang tinggal di daerah dengan ASGM yang sangat tinggi
aktivitas (Poboya, daerah Palu), ada kekhawatiran tentang manusia resiko kesehatan. Untuk
kelompok 4, hanya ada kekhawatiran tentang risiko kesehatan manusia di Palu. Meskipun tidak
ada kekhawatiran tentang kesehatan manusia untuk kelompok 4 di Palangka Raya, konsentrasi
GEM yang diamati ada berkisar antara 2,04 hingga 167 ng m-3, dan konsentrasi tersebut adalah
1,85 hingga 152 kali tingkat latar belakang 1,10-1,30 ng m-3.43 Kegiatan pengerukan ASGM
banyak dilakukan di daerah aliran sungai Kahayan dan Rungan di hulu Palangkaraya. Kami
mengukur konsentrasi GEM di pusat kota Palangkaraya, dan kami berasumsi bahwa kumpulan
data tersebut mewakili konsentrasi GEM di pusat kota Palangkaraya. Dalam studi ini, kami tidak
dapat mengamati variasi musim yang akan terjadi diungkapkan oleh penelitian yang lebih luas.
Tindakan segera harus dilakukan untuk mengurangi konsentrasi GEM di area ini. Konsentrasi
GEM harus terus dipantau untuk mengurangi risiko kesehatan manusia dari inhalasi GEM di
perkotaan daerah. Bahkan di daerah perkotaan Palu, kesehatan manusia mungkin berada di
mempertaruhkan. Penduduk yang tinggal di Palu mungkin berisiko terkena 2012,7 dan temuan
kami mengungkapkan bahwa risiko ini telah bertahan hingga hari ini (2021). Beberapa kumpulan
data yang kami laporkan dikumpulkan selama lalu seperti 2007 dan 2011. Foto-foto satelit,52
bagaimanapun, memiliki mengindikasikan bahwa kegiatan ASGM masih berlanjut dan
berkembang sekitar Poboya, dan kegiatan ASGM masih berlanjut di daerah Palangkaraya.27
Meskipun konvensi Minamata pada merkuri mulai berlaku pada Agustus 2017, fakta-fakta ini
menunjukkan sulitnya mengurangi kegiatan ASGM. Survei kami dilakukan di daerah Palu pada
tahun 2017, di mana orang telah menggunakan metode yang sama untuk ASGM sejak kami
pertama kali mengunjungi Palu pada tahun 2010. Demikian pengamatan menunjukkan bahwa
emisi GEM ke atmosfer karena ASGM mungkin meningkat.
4. Kesimpulan
Polusi GEM dikaitkan dengan semua skala dan metode kegiatan ASGM. Penelitian kami
mengungkapkan risiko kesehatan manusia melalui inhalasi GEM. Di toko emas, amalgam emas
dibakar menggunakan obor asetilena dalam konsep sederhana untuk mendapatkan emas mentah.
Kita mengamati konsentrasi GEM yang tinggi di toko-toko ini, dan di sana adalah alasan untuk
khawatir tentang risiko terhadap kesehatan manusia sedemikian rupa tempat. Tindakan segera,
seperti menyiapkan konsep dan mengumpulkan merkuri menggunakan tabung kimia kecil29,53,54
harus dilakukan untuk meminimalkan risiko terhadap kesehatan manusia dari aktivitas tersebut.
Banyak masalah lingkungan dan sosial telah dilaporkan di lokasi kegiatan ASGM skala
17,19,23,55–57
besar. Di negara berkembang, aktivitas ASGM terjadi pada berbagai skala. Besar
Operasi ASGM dapat ditemukan dengan mudah, tetapi fasilitas ASGM kecil yang dioperasikan
oleh keluarga tidak jelas, dan terkait masalah kesehatan manusia dengan demikian mudah
diabaikan. Sayangnya, sulit untuk menghentikan kegiatan ASGM di daerah miskin. Sistem
pemulihan merkuri yang lebih baik dan program pendidikan lingkungan akan dibutuhkan untuk
mengurangi risiko kesehatan manusia terkait dengan operasi ini.