By working with artisanal and small-scale gold miners and local experts, researchers at Michigan State University are helping reduce mercury emissions and reduce their health impacts.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining, or ASGM, accounts for about 20% of the world’s gold supply and nearly 40% of global mercury emissions.
A new paper from Jacqueline “Jackie” Gerson of Michigan State University shows that, when developed in partnership with mining communities, education paired with devices called retorts can reduce mercury emissions from ASGM operations in Senegal.
Gerson is also helping lead a new grant that will explore where mercury emissions from ASGM go and whether and how the mercury enters crops in nearby areas — a critical but understudied component of environmental and public health in these communities.
Matt DavenportEarth and Environmental SciencesW.K. Kellogg Biological Stationenvironmental protectiongoldmercury
