Introduction: Small-scale mining (SSM) is mining by individuals, groups, families, or cooperatives with minimal or no mechanization, often in the market's informal (illegal) sector. According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the Philippines, the gross production value of small-scale mining as of the 1st to 3rd quarter of 2020 was 0.5 billion pesos (1.05 billion USD). Objectives: This study investigated the work process in small-scale mining in the northern part of the Philippines. It documented the occupational hazards that small-scale gold miners are exposed to in each of the work processes. Methods: The target population is a community in the northern Philippines where the majority of the males are engaged in small-scale gold mining. This qualitative study used work observation and hazards analysis tools to investigate small-scale miners' work processes and hazard exposures. Results: The most widely employed mining technique in the target community is dog-hole mining consisting of several sub-processes: tunneling, ball milling, and gravity concentration, cyanide leaching, and smelting. The occupational hazards identified were noise exposure from the dynamite blast, temperature extremes, and exposure to dust from dynamite blasting. The small-scale miners were subjected to prolonged crouching and bending, handling tools, and carrying heavy sacks filled with mineral ores. The miners resorted to improvised protective equipment such as wearing sleeveless shirts and drinking water for temperature extremes, distancing themselves from the mining blasts during dynamite blasting, and intermittently used carts with manual handling to transport ores packed in sacks. In the ball milling and gravity concentration process, machine-related accidents such as cuts from the crusher were observed. In cyanide leaching, which uses massive amounts of cyanide, the most prevalent hazards were heat, dust, and chemicals such as cyanide fumes. The risks included smoke from burning ore and coal and exposure to borax and nitric acid fumes in the smelting process. Conclusion This study documented the work process in small-scale gold mining and the hazard exposures in this type of informal industry. It is suggested that the local and national governments implement intervention programs for occupational health and safety measures, and social security nets are provided for the small-scale miners in Itogon, Benguet.
Cyanides ; Occupational Health

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is an anti-hypertensive drug, commonly used to decrease the systemic vascular resistance and lower the blood pressure. When the amount of cyanide generated by the SNP exceeds the metabolic capacity for detoxification, cyanide toxicity occurs. Under general anesthesia and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), it may be difficult to detect the development of cyanide toxicity. In cardiac surgical patients, hemolysis, hypothermia and decreased organ perfusion, which emphasize the risk of cyanide toxicity, may develop as a consequence of CPB. In particular, hemolysis during CPB may cause an unexpected overproduction of cyanide due to free hemoglobin release. We experienced a patient who demonstrated SNP tachyphylaxis and cyanide toxicity during CPB, even though the total amount of SNP administered was much lower than the recommended dose. We therefore report this case with a review of the relevant literature.
Anesthesia, General ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass* ; Cyanides ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Nitroprusside* ; Perfusion ; Tachyphylaxis ; Vascular Resistance

Cyanide poisoning is expected to be antagonized by the administration of oxygen, when it is administered in combination with the conventional cyanide antidote, sodium,thiosulfate. However, the antidotal efficacy and its exact mechanism of oxygen in cyanide poisoning is still a controversial one. To test the effect of oxygen on the antidotal action of thiosulfate ,in cyanide poisoning, author designed this study on the dose-mortality patterns for potassium cyanide in mice. Potency ratios derived from LDso values were compared in groups of mice treated with sodium thiosulfate alone and sodium thiosulfate with oxygen. These results indicated that oxygen enhances the anti-dotal effect of sodium thiosulfate, effectively. This fact demonstrates that oxygen is of importance in the treatment of cyanide poisoning.
Animals ; Mice ; Oxygen* ; Poisoning* ; Potassium Cyanide ; Sodium

Although sodium nitroprusside (SNP) is often used in pediatric intensive care units, cyanide toxicity can occur after SNP treatment. To treat SNP-induced cyanide poisoning, antidotes such as amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, sodium thiosulfate, and hydroxycobalamin should be administered immediately after diagnosis. Here, we report the first case of a very young infant whose SNP-induced cyanide poisoning was successfully treated by exchange transfusion. The success of this alternative method may be related to the fact that exchange transfusion not only removes the cyanide from the blood but also activates detoxification systems by supplying sulfur-rich plasma. Moreover, exchange transfusion replaces cyanide-contaminated erythrocytes with fresh erythrocytes, thereby improving the blood's oxygen carrying capacity more rapidly than antidote therapy. Therefore, we believe that exchange transfusion might be an effective therapeutic modality for critical cases of cyanide poisoning.
Amyl Nitrite ; Antidotes ; Natural Resources ; Cyanides ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Hydroxocobalamin ; Infant ; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric ; Nitroprusside ; Oxygen ; Plasma ; Sodium ; Sodium Nitrite ; Thiosulfates

Animals ; Cyanides ; toxicity ; Mice ; Random Allocation ; Toxicity Tests, Chronic

The records of 255 cyanide poisoning deaths obtained from National Forensic Service (NFS) headquarters, located in Seoul of Korea, from 2005 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. The mean age was 41.88 +/- 13.09 and range was 6~80 years (unknown in seven cases). The number of deaths of males and females were 200 and 53, respectively (unknown in two cases). The largest number of cases occurred in people aged 40-49 years (81 cases, 31.8%), followed by the age groups 30~39 years (51 cases, 20%), 50~59 years (44 cases, 17.2%) and 20~29 years (43 cases, 16.9%). The total number of deaths among other age groups (below 10, 10~19, 60~69, 70~79, over 80 years and unknown) were 36, representing only 14.1%. Of all cyanide poisoning deaths, 97.3% were due to suicide, and 14.5% of the total number who died received medical treatment. The most frequent site for ingestion was the person's own residence (120 cases, 47.1%) and the route of administration was mainly oral (252, 98.8%). From the total of 255 cyanide poisoning cases, white powders were submitted for analysis in 92 cases. Potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide occupied 51 and 41 cases, respectively. This study showed that poisoning deaths due to cyanide are one of the continuously reported public health problems in Korea. Enforcement of regulations and safety education to prevent cyanide poisoning should be carried out by the government.
Aged ; Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Potassium Cyanide ; Powders ; Public Health ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Control, Formal ; Sodium Cyanide ; Suicide

Adult ; Aged ; Airway Management ; Cyanides ; poisoning ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Poisoning ; nursing ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To establish the method for measurement of acetonitrile in blood and urine by head-space gas chromatography. METHODS: DB-ALC1 (30 m x 320 microm x 1.8 microm) and DB-ALC2 (30 m x 320 microm x 1.2 microm) capillary column were used to measure the acetonitrile in blood and urine with the isopropanol as internal standard reference. RESULTS: The limits of detection of acetonitrile in both blood and urine were 0.5 microg/mL, with a linear range of 5-1000 microg/mL (r = 0.999).The accuracy of this method was 93.2%-98.0%. The RSD for the intra-day and inter-day were less than 3.7%. CONCLUSION The method is capable for measurement analysis of acetonitrile in blood and urine.
Acetonitriles/urine* ; Chromatography, Gas/methods* ; Cyanides/urine* ; Forensic Toxicology/methods* ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results ; Suicide, Attempted

Traditionally, the gingko nut is used for enhancing liver function, skin immunity, pulmonary function, and antitussive action in chronic asthma. However, when overused, it can induce central nervous system dysfunction, and the following symptoms can manifest themselves: vomiting, dizziness, convulsion, insomnia, and confusion. We experienced a case of suspected cyanide intoxication that was manifested by convulsion and metabolic dysfunction after consuming a large number of ginko nuts. We report that case, together with a review of the literature.
Asthma ; Central Nervous System ; Cyanides ; Dizziness ; Ginkgo biloba* ; Liver ; Nuts* ; Poisoning* ; Seizures ; Skin ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Vomiting

Accidents, Occupational ; Acute Disease ; Administration, Inhalation ; Adult ; Cyanides ; administration & dosage ; poisoning ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Occupational Diseases ; chemically induced