Abstract Artisanal and small scale mining (ASM) is considered as a means to support and improve the quality of rural life, and is often the only activity that local communities have to sustain themselves. It is important to understand the nature of ASM and associated environmental effects in order to make informed decisions on the management, licensing and policy formulation of the ASM sector. Compared to other mined commodities such as, gold or diamond, the studies focusing on environmental and health impacts of sandstone mining are limited. This study used life cycle assessment (LCA) tool to evaluate the overall impact of artisanal sandstone mining (ASAM) on the environment and human health. The impact categories assessed in the study included: resource depletion, global warming, ozone layer depletion and acidification. It was observed that the impact of ASAM on the environment was minimal, however the high physical demand of the work negatively affected the health of the miners. The most common health related issues with the miners was observed to be silicosis and musculoskeletal problems. Fossil fuel used during transportation was observed to be the highest contributor for most of the impact categories.

中文翻译：

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手工砂岩开采对矿山工人环境和健康的生命周期影响评估

摘要 手工和小规模采矿 (ASM) 被认为是支持和改善农村生活质量的一种手段，通常是当地社区必须维持自己的唯一活动。重要的是要了解 ASM 的性质和相关的环境影响，以便在 ASM 部门的管理、许可和政策制定方面做出明智的决定。与黄金或钻石等其他开采商品相比，关注砂岩开采对环境和健康影响的研究是有限的。本研究使用生命周期评估 (LCA) 工具来评估手工砂岩开采 (ASAM) 对环境和人类健康的总体影响。研究中评估的影响类别包括：资源枯竭、全球变暖、臭氧层消耗和酸化。据观察，ASAM 对环境的影响很小，但工作的高体力需求对矿工的健康产生了负面影响。据观察，矿工最常见的健康相关问题是矽肺和肌肉骨骼问题。据观察，运输过程中使用的化石燃料是大多数影响类别的最大贡献者。