Business

Ghana Tackles Mercury Use in Artisanal Gold Mining

Story Highlights
  • This initiative comes in response to documented health concerns.
  • Inhaling mercury vapor can have a detrimental impact on various bodily systems.

Ghana’s Minister Designate for Environment, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, reaffirmed the government’s dedication to curbing, and ideally eliminating, mercury use in the country’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector.

This initiative comes in response to documented health concerns. Improper handling of mercury during mining has led to cases of intoxication and poisoning among miners and residents in these communities.

At a meeting on Environmental Health and Pollution Management, Ms. Hayford acknowledged that while current legislation allows for some mercury use, its improper handling poses serious health risks. Inhaling mercury vapor can have a detrimental impact on various bodily systems.

Recognizing the significant contribution of ASGM to mercury emissions, Ghana has committed to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

This international agreement requires Ghana to minimize the impact of ASGM by promoting alternative mining methods and processing techniques that don’t rely on mercury.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also taking action. Executive Director John Kingsley Krugu highlighted their efforts to enforce regulations on hazardous and electronic waste management.

They’ve developed communication strategies to engage stakeholders involved in the electronic waste chain.

Additionally, the EPA has partnered with private entities to identify locations for building collection and dismantling centers for e-waste across Ghana.

The World Bank’s Ghana Country Director, Robert Taliercio O’Brien, emphasized the need for global collaboration.

He urged nations to develop national action plans to reduce or eliminate mercury use in ASGM. He stressed the importance of working together with UN agencies to address this issue of mercury pollution effectively.

Related Articles