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November 2009, Vol 99, No. S3 | American Journal of Public Health S550-S558
© 2009 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.148940

FRAMING HEALTH MATTERS

Occupational Health, Mercury Exposure, and Environmental Justice: Learning From Experiences in Tanzania

Samuel J. Spiegel, MSc

Samuel J. Spiegel is with the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England.

Correspondence: Correspondence should be sent to Samuel J. Spiegel, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, United Kingdom (e-mail: samspiegel{at}gmail.com). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking on the "Reprints/Eprints" link.

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.






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