Open AccessOccupational Health, Mercury Exposure, and Environmental Justice: Learning From Experiences in Tanzania
Author(s) -
Samuel J. Spiegel
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2008.148940
Subject(s) - tanzania , public health , environmental justice , poverty , environmental health , occupational safety and health , economic growth , political science , economic justice , socioeconomics , sociology , medicine , economics , nursing , law
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that is used by poverty-driven miners to extract gold in more than 50 countries. This article examines efforts of the United Nations to address occupational health and environmental justice amid these challenges, focusing on a 3-year campaign in one of the fastest-growing mining communities in Tanzania. By providing an integrative analysis of environmental health risks, labor practices, public health policies, and drivers of social inequity and marginalization, this study highlights the need for interdisciplinary public health approaches that support community development by strengthening local capacities. It illustrates why, to ensure that the needs of vulnerable populations are met, environmental justice and public health paradigms have to expand beyond the conventionally narrow attention paid to toxic exposure and emissions issues.