Ghana miners and dust inhalation

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Illegal gold miners in Ghana are suffering life-changing consequences resulting from dust inhalation. In many cases, these complications can remain symptomless for years.

A Ghanaian phrase for the occupation is “Galamsey”; a term which has come from the phrase “gather them and sell”. Within the Galamsey work force are workers tasked with pounding rock into fine dust to be refined further down the line, aptly titled ‘pounders’.

The work of the pounders can be unrelenting. Mr Kwame Asugre was one such pounder in a Galamsey operation. He explains, “I could pound two to four buckets full of stone repeatedly till it become like fine sand, after that we would go for another set of three or four”.

Mr Asugre recalls pounding from early morning right through to times it was so dark the pounders would light fires to continue working, only stopping briefly to sleep. Then, work would continue through the next day. He added, “you collect your money based on the number of buckets you are able to pound” – a clear incentive to work as long as you are able.

Kwame Asugre has since struggled with breathing difficulties and chest pain when doing even minimal work, alongside significant weight loss. He explained he is progressively losing his strength and can no longer bathe on his own. This is the result of an irreversible lung disease known as Silicosis, the leading cause of which is occupational exposure.

Silica dust is present in sandstone and granite. When disturbed, it may be inhaled and will sit in the tiny air sacs contained in the lungs called the alveoli. When the body attempts to fight this foreign dust, excess scar tissue forms and causes an incremental loss of the lungs’ ability to carry oxygen.

The nature of silicosis and other similar lung conditions means that complications may develop as late as 5-10 years after exposure has ceased.

George Appiah was a high school student when he first started working for one of these operations. Now 23 years old, he is oxygen dependent, much like 50-year-old Kwame Asugre. He says, “those people I met there are still alive without any issues. Some take alcohol, I don’t take alcohol but I am suffering” … “now, I cannot do anything”.

Being oxygen dependent, George would require oxygen at home. He recalls his wages at the Galamsey site seven years prior: “they give me GHC 50, 30 or 20 depending on the work. By 2015, I stopped.”

Assuming George made 50GHC a day for 7 days a week, he would be at around 1,500GHC monthly and 18,000GHC yearly. This needs to cover the price of maintaining his oxygen.

An oxygen tank requires a minimum of 600GHC to fill. One filled tank will last around 3 days when usage is kept low. This equals to at least 6,000GHC a month to stay alive; or 72,000GHC a year.

George suffers from ‘Silico-Tuberculosis’. Dr Kwaku Gyasi Danso explains that, typically, patients who come in with a TB infection usually have an underlying condition which causes the bacteria responsible for TB to awaken from latency. He explains:

“Globally, 1.7 billion of us have what is referred to as ‘latent TB infection’. We have actually been infected with the mycobacterium but because our immune system is strong, the organism is walled up in our lungs, like larvae in a cocoon”.

If a patient comes in with Tuberculosis, they will usually already suffer from conditions such as HIV or diabetes. Aside from this group, Dr Danso says the majority of others come under Silico-Tuberculosis. The effect of silicosis on someone in this group can mean they will easily develop a full-blown Tuberculosis infection.

Dr Danso explains: “It is important that workers are adequately protected from all these possible long-term effects” … “mining in all forms that releases a lot of dust into the air would require that the people involved are adequately protected with quality air filtration devices, so that they don’t develop something as disturbing as silicosis.”

The best summary is provided by Professor Ossei Sampene, when he says, “Surface mining is using the worst method ever to extract the tiniest of gold and comes at the consequences of environmental and self-destruction”. These huge operations employ the work of everyday Ghanaians looking to earn small amounts of money, with huge consequences to their well-being and life expectancy.

Original source: Death by dust: Illegal gold miners in Ghana dying from irreversible lung damage – MyJoyOnline.com

1: Ghana needs to rethink its small scale mining strategy. Here’s how (theconversation.com)

Illegal gold miners in Ghana are suffering life-changing consequences resulting from dust inhalation. In many cases, these complications can remain symptomless for years.

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