Preliminary Study on Human Lung Function of Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Miner in Gorontalo Province, Indonesia

Effects of mercury from ASGM in humans have been reported in various studies. The effect depends on the dose, the form of mercury, and a way of entering the body. The human body with all its perfection has a remarkable system of defense against external negative effects including toxic effects of mercury. One of the leading defense systems of the human body is the respiratory system, because it is an organ connected directly to the outside environment. Early detection is very necessary to prevent the incidence of more severe, then the initial lung examination is needed and important. For that, there needs to be an examination of the lungs that can be used to find early lung disorders, namely the spirometry test. During this time in each study was only performed blood tests, urine and hair to assess the levels of mercury, but the disease-based examination is limited to only a neuropsychological examination. Spirometry is useful and basic in the diagnosis of lung diseases. In addition to assessing respiratory function primarily assessing breathing pattern, such as pulmonary fibrosis or asthma, it is also very helpful in health surveillance. In the preliminary survey, 4 samples were taken consisting of 2 miner samples and 2 samples non-miners (control). These 4 sample have the same age range, with the same smoking status. The spirometry test result shows that all miner had lung disorders and control samples had normal results. The conclusions from this survey are: (1) Mercury pollution must be a serious attention for all of us; (2) all miners tend to be exposed to evaporated mercury; (3) Spirometry tests can be one of the health examinations for early detection of lung disease.