Youth Artisanal and Small‐Scale Miners' Perspectives on the Health Effects of Mercury

ABSTRACT Artisanal and small‐scale mining (ASM) has gained prominence in the development discourse mainly due to its contribution to national economies; but also, the occupational and environmental challenges associated with the sector. This paper concentrates on the use of mercury at ASM sites, as one of the major concerns associated with a growing sector in Ghana. The paper reveals that youth miners have limited knowledge of the grave health effects of mercury because such knowledge is based on what is transmitted by their older counterparts. Some miners have devised crude ways of protecting themselves against the effects of mercury. The paper proposes that an improved education on the effects of mercury on the health of youth miners could be an essential component of formalising the sector, which will also prove to be a key strategy to achieving the goal of reducing and eliminating mercury from ASM.