Effects of gold mining activities on health of households in the Obuasi municipality in Ghana.

Abstract

Despite the significant contribution of gold mining to Ghana’s socio-economic development, it generates negative externalities which pose health hazards to residents near the source of extraction. The study estimates the effects of exposure to gold mining pollution on health expenditure, potable water and intergenerational health. A cluster sampling survey conducted in the Obuasi Municipality provided data for the study. An instrumental variables hedonic regression was employed to estimate the relationship between health expenditure and exposure to mining pollution while Marshallian demand and intergenerational transmission models were used to estimate the effect of pollution exposure on residential water usage and intergenerational health respectively. Results suggest, after controlling for factors such as current and long-term health status, that gold-mining pollution has a positive effect on private healthcare expenditure, decrease water consumption and availability, and could be linked to intergenerational transmission of cardiovascular diseases, asthma and respiratory tract infections across generations. By directly estimating mining pollution impact on healthcare spending, compensation for exposure to such pollution could be calculated and victims better compensated. Thus, the distance to the tailings could be the yardstick for determining such compensation, all else being equal. Quality water availability should be improved by expanding the piped water networks. Specialized and well-resourced centers should be established to study, monitor and combat current health effects of mining pollution from affecting future generations while at the same time, generating longitudinal data for research.