The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has said that jewellers in Regions Three and Four are being affected by mercury in their workshops.
The discovery was made after a study was conducted by students of the University of Guyana’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences through funding from the WWF, a press release said yesterday.
As many as 70% of jewelleers had above normal or elevated total mercury levels while 30% had normal levels in urine samples tested, the WWF said in the release. The higher levels among jewellers it said would have most likely been due to their exposure to mercury vapour during the melting of gold amalgam.
The study also found that there was no significant exposure of jewellers to methyl mercury, but jewellers were exposed to elemental mercury because above normal amounts of the chemical was found in their urine.
The results of the study found that majority (88.9%) of the respondents claimed that they were aware that mercury could be harmful to them but 46.8% of them rarely used personal protection equipment in their establishments, the WWF added.
Twenty-three percent used no protective equipment and another 23% used the equipment most of the times. Only3.2% of the respondents reported that they always used protective equipment. The release said that this conclusion was supported by observations that were made during the survey in which workers in 85.2% of the jewellery establishments wore no personal protective equipment.
Based on these findings, the WWF recommended that a public education programme be held to target jewellers, notwithstanding their awareness that mercury is harmful. It said the programme should provide information on sources of exposure to mercury in the gold jewellery making process, how mercury could be harmful, first aid response to mercury exposure and the cleaning up of mercury spills.
The release also said that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Occupational Health and Safety Unit should consider closer monitoring of gold jewellery establishments to ensure that personal and protective equipment as well as first aid kits are provided and personal protective equipment is utilised.
The WWF also added in the release that the study recommended that an assessment of the handling, storage and disposal of other chemicals used in the jewellery making process should be conducted.
