气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo

CCPortal

DOI	10.1038/s41893-018-0139-4
	Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo
	Banza Lubaba Nkulu C.; Casas L.; Haufroid V.; De Putter T.; Saenen N.D.; Kayembe-Kitenge T.; Musa Obadia P.; Kyanika Wa Mukoma D.; Lunda Ilunga J.-M.; Nawrot T.S.; Luboya Numbi O.; Smolders E.; Nemery B.
发表日期	2018
ISSN	2398-9629
起始页码	495
结束页码	504
卷号	1 期号:9
英文摘要	The sustainability of cobalt is an important emerging issue because this critical base metal is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. More than half of the world’s cobalt mine production comes from the Katanga Copperbelt in DR Congo, with a substantial proportion (estimated at 15–20%) being extracted by artisanal miners. Here we show, in a case study performed in the town of Kolwezi, that people living in a neighbourhood that had been transformed into an artisanal cobalt mine had much higher levels of cobalt in their urine and blood than people living in a nearby control area. The differences were most pronounced for children, in whom we also found evidence of exposure-related oxidative DNA damage. It was already known that industrial mining and processing of metals has led to severe environmental pollution in the region. This field study provides novel and robust empirical evidence that the artisanal extraction of cobalt that prevails in the DR Congo may cause toxic harm to vulnerable communities. This strengthens the conclusion that the currently existing cobalt supply chain is not sustainable. © 2018, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
语种	英语
scopus关键词	Cobalt mines; Lithium-ion batteries; Supply chains; Artisanal miners; Artisanal mining; Environmental pollutions; Field studies; Mine production; Neighbourhood; Oxidative DNA damage; Vulnerable communities; Sustainable development
来源期刊	Nature Sustainability
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/163040
作者单位	Unit of Toxicology and Environment, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic Congo; Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; ISGlobal, Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain; Louvain Centre for Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; Geodynamics and Mineral Resources Unit, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium; Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Department of Geology, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic Congo; Division of Water and Soil Management, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Banza Lubaba Nkulu C.,Casas L.,Haufroid V.,et al. Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo[J],2018,1(9).
APA	Banza Lubaba Nkulu C..,Casas L..,Haufroid V..,De Putter T..,Saenen N.D..,...&Nemery B..(2018).Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo.Nature Sustainability,1(9).
MLA	Banza Lubaba Nkulu C.,et al."Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo".Nature Sustainability 1.9(2018).