Environment & Health Research Unit
Mercury Exposure in Communities Living alongside the Inanda Dam
A PhD study conducted by Vathiswa Papu, examined exposure to mercury in selected communities living alongside the Inanda Dam in the South African province of KwaZulu Natal. The study was conducted in the wake of an upstream mercury contamination incident more than a decade earlier. The data showed elevated levels of mercury in stream sediment close to the site of contamination and in a small sample of fish captured from the Inanda Dam. Elevated mercury concentrations were also found in hair samples collected from community members.
The findings of the study have been written up in a peer-reviewed publication: Papu-Zamxaka V, Mathee A, Harpham T, Barnes B, Röllin H, Lyons M, Jordaan W, Cloete M. Elevated mercury exposure in communities living alongside the Inanda Dam, South Africa. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2010, 12:472 - 477.
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