Artisanal and small-scale gold mining and health

The overarching objective of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (Article 1) is “to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds”. The Convention includes a range of measures to meet this objective, including controls on emissions and releases of mercury to the environment from industrial sources and phasing out or phasing down certain mercury-added products or product components. The Convention includes an Article dedicated to health aspects (Article 16), which specifically calls for the development and implementation of strategies and programmes to identify and protect populations at risk from exposure to mercury and mercury compounds, including through the adoption of science-based health guidelines, health promotion and health education activities. This Article also calls for the promotion of preventive and curative services for populations affected by exposure to mercury and for the strengthening of health sector capacity to address mercury-related health issues.
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/247195/1/9789241510271-eng.pdf