Mercury is an insidious hazard that requires constant vigilance. We're sharing the latest information we have on mercury hazards and best practices to reduce mercury exposure, and we are asking others in the mining community to contribute their comments. Chronic mercury exposure can cause permanent disability in mine employees unless it is properly controlled. It can also affect the children of workers either by the reproductive damage it can cause in their parents or by exposure when their parents bring home mercury through contamination of clothing and other items. A cumulative poison, mercury can affect the brain, the central nervous system, the kidneys, and the reproductive system.
Mercury can be naturally present in ore and is produced as a byproduct of gold and silver mining.
Because mercury vapor is odorless and cannot be seen, individuals often underestimate the hazard. Mercury can be absorbed through the lungs, the skin, or the digestive tract. Growing use of cyanide technology has increased recovery of byproducts such as mercury, as well as gold and silver production. Exposures ranged as high as 50 times the allowable limit. In addition, MSHA has found lunchrooms contaminated by mercury, as well as individuals permitted to eat in work areas exposed to the toxic material.