Despite the esteemed nature of gold in society, evidence of adverse ecotoxicological effects and risk to human health in various mining and extraction techniques has generated increasing interest in the biological and environmental implications of gold. Biogeochemical, Health, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives on Gold and Gold Mining is the first comprehensive book to evaluate the effect of gold production and use on human health as well as the environmental impact of gold mining and extraction.

Dr. Ronald Eisler, a well-known senior research biologist and expert in the chemical and biological effects of various compounds on wildlife, provides a thorough risk assessment of gold, including its geology and sources and physical, chemical, and metabolic properties. The author documents gold concentrations and field collections of abiotic materials and biota and presents research on the lethal and sublethal effects of gold on plants and animals. Supported by case histories, the book examines health risks in gold miners, human sensitivity to jewelry and dental implants, and medicinal uses. It uses examples in several countries to thoroughly explore the environmental effects of gold extraction, including tailings disposal, acid mine drainage, cyanide, arsenic, and mercury contamination, water management issues, and abandoned mines.

Unlike traditional risk assessments, the author also takes into account social, political, economic, medicinal, and psychological variables for a more complete perspective on gold's impact on health and the environment. Biogeochemical, Health, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives on Gold and Gold Mining concludes with a discussion on mining legislation, safety, and procedures.

As a research biologist with the US Geological Survey, Eisler has been charged over the past several decades with assessing the risk to wildlife of various compounds. Among the most difficult assessment, he has found, are those relating to gold and gold mining, because none of the preceding reports relied significantly on social, political, economic, medical, or psychological variables in assessing risk to the biosphere. Through literature analysis, visits to operating gold mines, and consultations with colleagues, he has gradually tried to evaluate critically the enormous effort expended by society in producing gold mainly for coinage, bullion, and personal jewelry, regardless of environmental damage. The conclusions are his own, he says, not necessarily those of his boss or any other federal agency.
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This book is the first comprehensive book to evaluate the biological and environmental effects of gold. Dr. Ronald Eisler provides a thorough risk assessment of gold, including its geological, physical, chemical, and metabolic properties; gold concentrations and field collections of abiotic materials and biota; its effects on plants and animals; health risks in gold miners; and medicinal uses. It explores the environmental effects of extraction, including tailings disposal, acid mine drainage, cyanide, arsenic, and mercury contamination, water management issues, and abandoned mines. The author takes into account social, political, economic, and psychological variables and concludes with a discussion on mining legislation, safety, and procedures.