Madre de Dios, the name of a region in southeastern Peru bordering Brazil and Bolivia, is a very common designation for the Virgin Mary, meaning Mother of God in Spanish. In real life, however, Mother of God, used as an oath and not a name, expresses what intense and unregulated gold exploration and extraction are doing to this up-to-now privileged area in Peru.
Madre de Dios is a region rich in cotton, coffee, sugarcane, cacao, Brazil nuts, and palm oil. However, plentiful gold has attracted tens of thousands of illegal miners whose activities are having a deleterious effect not only on precious species in the environment but also on the health and quality of life of both native and new populations in the region.
Alluvial gold mining in Peru’s Amazon rainforest has rapidly spread in recent years, driven by the high price of gold. Although many jungle-mining concessions have been granted by the energy and mines ministry, the informal sector has grown out of control.
It is estimated that almost a quarter of the gold produced in Peru, the world’s sixth largest producer, is illegal. The majority of this illegal gold comes from the Madre de Dios region. Local nongovernmental organizations believe that there are up to 30,000 miners in the area.
Gold deposits are mined by both large-scale operators and small-scale miners who use hydraulic mining techniques and heavy machinery to expose potential gold-yielding gravel deposits. Gold is extracted by a sluice box, a piece of gold prospecting equipment that has been in continuous use for over a hundred years. The sluice box is used to separate heavier sediment and mercury is also used for amalgamating the precious metal.Several studies have shown that small-scale miners are less efficient in their use of mercury than industrial miners. As a result, 2.91 pounds of mercury are released into waterways for every 2.2 pounds of gold produced. It is estimated that more than 40 tons of mercury have been absorbed into the rivers of Madre de Dios, poisoning the food chain.
Mercury not only contaminates waterways and becomes a serious threat to human health but is also a dangerous toxin to fish. Fish in the area contain three times more mercury than the safe levels permitted by the World Health Organization.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, “After fossil fuel burning, small-scale gold mining is the world’s second largest source of mercury pollution, contributing around one-third of the world’s mercury pollution.”
Mercury contamination is not the only drawback of small-scale mining, however. Another significant problem is the significant amount of deforestation it produces while clearing forests for the construction of roads to open remote areas to transient settlers and land speculators.
In addition, deforestation is the result of cutting trees to obtain building material and fuel wood.
The enormity of the damage has been documented in a study by American, French, and Peruvian researchers published in the peer-reviewed magazine PLoS ONE. According to the study, Using satellite imagery from NASA, researchers were able to assess the loss of 7,000 hectares (15,200 acres) of forest due to artisanal gold mining in Peru between 2003 and 2009. This is an area larger than Bermuda.
Jennifer Swenson, the lead author of the study, says that such enormous deforestation is “plainly visible from space,” and suggests that Peru should limit the importation of mercury.
In addition to these problems, illegal gold mining has significantly increased the number of 12-to-17-year-old girls and young women drafted by prostitution rings. These young women are brought from all over the country to brothels that have sprung up in mining camps. Many of the women that fall into these prostitution rings eventually disappear, and are never seen again. Miners also bring diseases to local indigenous populations.
While Peruvian authorities have sent almost 1,000 security forces to destroy river dredgers used by illegal gold miners in the Madre de Dios region even more drastic measures are needed, such as stricter vigilance and regulation. At stake is the survival of what has been recognized as one of the most biologically rich areas in the world.
2011年11月30日星期三
2011年10月27日星期四
Association urges end-users to drive quality assurance
Quality assurance needs to be driven by end-users, as South Africa lacks uniform quality control, particularly of hose assemblies, in hydraulic systems, says South African Fluid Power Association (Safpa) chairperson Norman Hall.
Safpa has completed a set of standards, the Hose Assembly and Accreditation Scheme, based on the British Fluid Power Association’s (BFPA’s) standards, by which companies can be audited and endorsed by Safpa.
However, Hall notes that companies are reluctant to undertake the accreditation process unless this is demanded by the end-user.
He adds that many hose assembly suppliers mix and match hoses, collars and inserts, as well as use unbranded, unmarked and reworked hoses, which are potentially dangerous.
Components for assemblies must be compatible by design, size, type and manufacture. Further, compatibility must be proven through testing to the appropriate specifications.
“Hydraulic hose assemblies may have pressures of between 200 bar and 300 bar coursing through them, and because of the high pressures, when oil hoses burst, oil is injected into a person’s skin, which is called oil impregnation, and this is dangerous to the individual,” says Hall.
He adds people are occasionally burnt by the oil, not because the temperature of the oil is hot, but because the pressure with which it escapes the burst hose is so intense that it causes friction burns.
“Safety in hose fluid power is a significant priority, but many companies do not realise the dangers of burst hoses,” Hall explains.
Safpa aims to increase quality control in South Africa through its Hose Assembly and Accreditation Scheme, and to increase safety awareness through a one-day hose safety course.
This course, which was imported from the BFPA, has been developed to provide an introduction to hydraulic hoses, connectors and the safe assembly of these components for industrial use.
The course content includes basic hose principles, health, safety and environ- ment, hose and connector selection, hose assembly, important rules and two video presentations on hose manufacture and hose safety.
Hall urges end-users to demand quality- certified hose assemblies for the sake of employee safety and to decrease capital expenditure, as poor-quality hose assemblies need to be replaced more often.
Safpa has completed a set of standards, the Hose Assembly and Accreditation Scheme, based on the British Fluid Power Association’s (BFPA’s) standards, by which companies can be audited and endorsed by Safpa.
However, Hall notes that companies are reluctant to undertake the accreditation process unless this is demanded by the end-user.
He adds that many hose assembly suppliers mix and match hoses, collars and inserts, as well as use unbranded, unmarked and reworked hoses, which are potentially dangerous.
Components for assemblies must be compatible by design, size, type and manufacture. Further, compatibility must be proven through testing to the appropriate specifications.
“Hydraulic hose assemblies may have pressures of between 200 bar and 300 bar coursing through them, and because of the high pressures, when oil hoses burst, oil is injected into a person’s skin, which is called oil impregnation, and this is dangerous to the individual,” says Hall.
He adds people are occasionally burnt by the oil, not because the temperature of the oil is hot, but because the pressure with which it escapes the burst hose is so intense that it causes friction burns.
“Safety in hose fluid power is a significant priority, but many companies do not realise the dangers of burst hoses,” Hall explains.
Safpa aims to increase quality control in South Africa through its Hose Assembly and Accreditation Scheme, and to increase safety awareness through a one-day hose safety course.
This course, which was imported from the BFPA, has been developed to provide an introduction to hydraulic hoses, connectors and the safe assembly of these components for industrial use.
The course content includes basic hose principles, health, safety and environ- ment, hose and connector selection, hose assembly, important rules and two video presentations on hose manufacture and hose safety.
Hall urges end-users to demand quality- certified hose assemblies for the sake of employee safety and to decrease capital expenditure, as poor-quality hose assemblies need to be replaced more often.
2011年5月29日星期日
Looking back at The Esplanade Hotel Fire: A Fireman's view by Alastair Smith
THE largest fire to occur in Penarth in living memory happened on the afternoon of May 29, 1977, on the bank holiday weekend.
Fire swept through the Esplanade Hotel which was a prominent Victorian landmark on Penarth seafront.
The hotel was famous in rugby circles for hosting the Barbarians rugby team on their popular Easter tour of South Wales, which always featured a match against the local Penarth team.
Large crowds had flocked to the Esplanade as it was a gloriously sunny day; but they were treated to the sight of over 50 firemen battling to extinguish the blaze which seriously damaged the building.
The first appliance to arrive was driven by me, with a veteran 'old hand' Mal Peters in charge. We had received the initial call-out as a rubbish fire at the rear of the hotel, and driving along Rectory Road and down the hill to the beach we could see a huge plume of smoke rising high above the seafront.
We all quickly realised that we would soon be involved in some serious fire fighting, and to request support I had to radio-message our central control room, ensuring that all the correct details on the location of the fire and its extent were fully understood.
As always when you do this type of message, they ask you to repeat yourself, which can be very frustrating when you can see the fire taking hold.
We were only a crew of four and as you can imagine we were soon totally stretched.
We managed to run a hose line into the building, and luckily there was a fire hydrant just opposite the front of the hotel, providing water to fight the fire.
The first crew into the building were Kevin Wiggins and Terry Bullough, who had to deal with two very agitated Alsatians running loose inside.
Working our way upstairs we located three different seats of fire, and the fire at the top of the stairs had gone through the roof which helped to reduce the amount of smoke within the building.
The arrival of all the back-up appliances seemed to take forever.
The first to arrive was the Hydraulic Platform from Penarth crewed by some of our part-time firemen, who were able to provide some comic relief as they drove straight over the hose line which burst, soaking some of the crowd who were watching.
It took over three hours to extinguish the fire completely, and as you can imagine inside the hotel was similar to a bombsite.
Floors and ceilings had collapsed and one Cardiff fireman was injured, who was rescued by his colleague Hector Gosling, who at the time was Mayor of Barry.
They both emerged covered in plaster dust looking like snowmen, but with Hector laughing (as only he could), and the other fireman under his arm!
The fire crews who attended that day came from all over South Glamorgan, but the four of us on the first appliance were all Penarth 'locals' and we all deeply miss the 'Esp'.
Police investigated the cause of the fire, but nobody was ever held responsible. The building remained derelict for a number of years before being demolished and a block of flats being built on the site.
Fire swept through the Esplanade Hotel which was a prominent Victorian landmark on Penarth seafront.
The hotel was famous in rugby circles for hosting the Barbarians rugby team on their popular Easter tour of South Wales, which always featured a match against the local Penarth team.
Large crowds had flocked to the Esplanade as it was a gloriously sunny day; but they were treated to the sight of over 50 firemen battling to extinguish the blaze which seriously damaged the building.
The first appliance to arrive was driven by me, with a veteran 'old hand' Mal Peters in charge. We had received the initial call-out as a rubbish fire at the rear of the hotel, and driving along Rectory Road and down the hill to the beach we could see a huge plume of smoke rising high above the seafront.
We all quickly realised that we would soon be involved in some serious fire fighting, and to request support I had to radio-message our central control room, ensuring that all the correct details on the location of the fire and its extent were fully understood.
As always when you do this type of message, they ask you to repeat yourself, which can be very frustrating when you can see the fire taking hold.
We were only a crew of four and as you can imagine we were soon totally stretched.
We managed to run a hose line into the building, and luckily there was a fire hydrant just opposite the front of the hotel, providing water to fight the fire.
The first crew into the building were Kevin Wiggins and Terry Bullough, who had to deal with two very agitated Alsatians running loose inside.
Working our way upstairs we located three different seats of fire, and the fire at the top of the stairs had gone through the roof which helped to reduce the amount of smoke within the building.
The arrival of all the back-up appliances seemed to take forever.
The first to arrive was the Hydraulic Platform from Penarth crewed by some of our part-time firemen, who were able to provide some comic relief as they drove straight over the hose line which burst, soaking some of the crowd who were watching.
It took over three hours to extinguish the fire completely, and as you can imagine inside the hotel was similar to a bombsite.
Floors and ceilings had collapsed and one Cardiff fireman was injured, who was rescued by his colleague Hector Gosling, who at the time was Mayor of Barry.
They both emerged covered in plaster dust looking like snowmen, but with Hector laughing (as only he could), and the other fireman under his arm!
The fire crews who attended that day came from all over South Glamorgan, but the four of us on the first appliance were all Penarth 'locals' and we all deeply miss the 'Esp'.
Police investigated the cause of the fire, but nobody was ever held responsible. The building remained derelict for a number of years before being demolished and a block of flats being built on the site.
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