Health Impact Assessment
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HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE DUNDEE PRECIOUS METALS TSUMEB SMELTER EXPANSION PROJECT PROFESSOR J E MYERS DECEMBER 2016 DUNDEE PRECIOUS METALS TSUMEB: SMELTER EXPANSION COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDY AND HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR THE EIA CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... 1 2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 5 2.1 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................... 5 2.2 STUDY SCOPE .......................................................................................................... 5 2.3 TEMPORAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY LOCATION .......................................... 7 2.4 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS .......................................................................................... 10 2.4.1 TEMPERATURE .................................................................................................... 10 2.4.2 RAINFALL.............................................................................................................. 11 2.4.3 WIND ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.5 OVERVIEW OF THE SMELTER PROCESSES AND PLANT OPERATIONS ........... 15 2.6 MAJOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANT OPERATIONS ...................................................................................................... 22 2.6.1 CONSEQUENCES OF EXPOSURE TO THESE HAZARDS .................................................... 24 2.6.2 DPMT OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME .................................... 25 2.6.3 DPMT ARSENIC EXPOSURE MONITORING PROGRAM .................................................... 28 2.6.4 DPMT EXPOSURE DATA ........................................................................................... 29 2.6.5 OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS (OEL S) ................................................................ 30 2.6.6 BIOLOGICAL EXPOSURE INDICES (BEI S) ..................................................................... 32 2.6.7 ARSENIC IN AIR DATA SETS ...................................................................................... 34 2.6.8 SUMMARY OF INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE DATA ................................................................... 44 2.6.9 ARSENIC BIOMONITORING DATA ................................................................................ 45 2.6.10 THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PPE ................................................................................... 56 2.6.11 SUMMARY OF ARSENIC BIOMONITORING PROGRAMME ................................................. 60 3 COMMUNITY HEALTH HAZARDS LINKED TO THE SMELTER .............................. 62 4 COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDER CONCERNS ............................................................. 62 5 SENSITIVE COMMUNITY RECEPTORS AND EXPOSURE PATHWAYS ................ 66 6 COMMUNITY RESIDENTS STUDY METHODS ......................................................... 69 7 COMMUNITY RESIDENTS STUDY FINDINGS .......................................................... 72 8 REVIEW OF THE DUNDEE SMELTER ROUTINE AIR QUALITY DATA AND ESTIMATION OF THE IMPACT OF AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS ON HEALTH .............. 73 8.1 EXPOSURE STANDARDS FOR AIR POLLUTANTS OF CONCERN ....................... 73 8.2 DATA SOURCES USED FOR COMMUNITY STUDY ............................................... 76 8.3 PM 10 .......................................................................................................................... 79 8.4 SO 2 ........................................................................................................................... 81 i 8.5 ARSENIC IN PM 10 ..................................................................................................... 82 8.6 SUMMARY OF AIRBORNE POLLUTANT FINDINGS .............................................. 86 9 MEASUREMENT OF ARSENIC IN TSUMEB DRINKING WATER AVAILABLE TO TSUMEB RESIDENTS AND ASSESSMENT OF ITS HEALTH IMPACT ................... 88 9.1 SOURCES OF DATA ................................................................................................ 88 9.2 DRINKING WATER POLLUTION FINDINGS .......................................................... 91 9.3 SUMMARY OF ARSENIC DRINKING WATER STUDY ............................................ 94 10 RESPIRATORY HEALTH SYMPTOMS ...................................................................... 95 10.1 ASTHMA-RELATED SYMPTOMS .......................................................................... 95 10.2 ODOUR PERCEPTION .......................................................................................... 99 10.3 SYMPTOMS OF IRRITATION DUE TO SO 2 ......................................................... 102 11 URINE ARSENIC LEVELS IN COMMUNITY RESIDENTS ...................................... 103 11.1 COMPARING TSUMEB AND OSHAKATI ............................................................. 103 11.2 COMPARING SUBURBS OF TSUMEB AND OSHAKATI ..................................... 105 11.3 GENDER .............................................................................................................. 110 11.4 AGE ...................................................................................................................... 111 11.5 GENDER AND AGE COMBINED .......................................................................... 112 11.6 DIET ..................................................................................................................... 113 11.7 OTHER POTENTIAL DETERMINANTS OF ARSENIC IN URINE ......................... 114 TH 11.8 EXCEEDANCES OF THE UPPER LIMIT OF NORMAL ( THE 95 PERCENTILE OF THE OSHAKATI DISTRIBUTION) ......................................... 115 11.9 PAST COMPARATIVE DATA FOR TSUMEB (2011) AND GROOTFONTEIN (2012) ................................................................................................................. 117 11.9.1 THE 2011 STUDY BY MAPANI ET AL . ........................................................................ 117 11.9.2 THE NAMIBIAN GOVERNMENT STUDY 2012 ............................................................. 120 11.10 SUMMARY OF URINE ARSENIC FINDINGS IN THE COMMUNITY STUDY ..... 122 12 SUMMARY OF EXPOSURES FROM ALL PATHWAYS ........................................ 124 12.1 WATER PATHWAY .............................................................................................. 124 12.2 AIR PATHWAY ..................................................................................................... 124 12.3 SOIL PATHWAY ................................................................................................... 125 12.4 FOOD PATHWAY ................................................................................................. 127 12.5 HAND TO MOUTH BEHAVIOUR .......................................................................... 128 12.6 INTEGRATION OF ALL PATHWAYS IN URINARY ARSENIC .............................. 128 13 DUNDEE SMELTER EXPANSION ENVIRONMENTAL (AND OCCUPATIONAL) LUNG CANCER RISK ASSESSMENT ........................................................................... 130 13.1 OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE EXPOSURE MEASUREMENTS ............................. 130 13.2 COMMUNITY EXPOSURES................................................................................. 131 14 MODELLING OF THE HEALTH IMPACT OF 54% INCREASED PRODUCTION THROUGHPUT ............................................................................................................... 134 14.1 THE NATURE OF SCALED-UP OPERATIONS ................................................... 134 14.2 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH IMPACT .................................................................... 136 14.3 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IMPACT .................................................................. 142 14.4 SUMMARY OF IMPACT OF A 54% PRODUCTION INCREASE .......................... 142 15 SUMMARY OF HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT .................................................. 145 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 150 15.1 APPENDIX 1: TOXICOLOGY OF ARSENIC ......................................................... 150 ii 15.2 APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE .......................................................... 165 15.3 APPENDIX 3: GLOSSARY OF VARIABLES FROM COMMUNITY STUDY ......... 169 15.4 APPENDIX 4: LABORATORY ANALYTIC METHODS ......................................... 172 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 SITE LOCATION .................................................................................................................................... 8 FIGURE 2: LAYOUT OF THE SMELTER SITE ....................................................................................................... 9 FIGURE 3: ANNUAL RAINFALL RECORDED IN TSUMEB (1914-2009) .............................................................. 11 FIGURE 4: AVERAGE MONTHLY RAINFALL DATA RECORDED AT TSUMEB (1914-2009) ............................ 12 FIGURE 5: TSUMEB PERIOD AVERAGE WIND ROSES (2006) ...................................................................... 13 FIGURE 6:TSUMEB SEASONAL WIND ROSES (2006) ....................................................................................... 14 FIGURE 7 : THE PRODUCTION PROCESS ........................................................................................................