Methods: We combined data on mine openings with HIV data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Using logistic regression models, we compared HIV-related indicators between mining (i.e. up to 10 km distance from the mine) and comparison (i.e. 10-50 km) areas before and after mine opening to identify their impact on HIV prevalence, sexual behavior and HIV knowledge.
Results: A total of 33 086 individuals across 39 mine openings were analyzed. Adjusting for baseline differences and temporal trends in the study regions, mine opening increased the odds of HIV infection almost two-fold [odds ratio (OR): 1.93, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-3.14]. Strongest effects were seen in high-prevalence countries and in the 20-29 years age group. In mining communities around operational mines, there was a tendency towards lower HIV knowledge (OR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.63-1.04). New mine openings increased the odds of risky sexual behaviors, such as having multiple sex partners (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02-2.55), high-risk sexual partners (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.03-2.05) and unprotected sex with high-risk partners (OR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.18-2.67).
And... They 039;re Mine!
Conclusion: The findings suggest that in our sample of households surrounding industrial mines, HIV infection risks substantially increase upon mine opening. Existing strategies for addressing mining-related risks for HIV transmission seem to be insufficient. Further efforts for mitigating and monitoring impacts of mines are needed.
I am going to attend a school for people like me. Special people, who can do impossible things. I have met a man that is from this school, and think that even though they are the same have the same abilities as me, I am still different in other ways.
I don't talk all that much about how I feel and suchThough I try to keep in touch with this heart of mineNow I'm gonna speak out loud because it makes me feel so proudThat we're standing the test of timeYou're 39, you're beautiful, you're mine
I wake up every day, on my tongue a song of praiseYou still take my breath away in the morning lightDown all the dogging days, you keep on getting better with ageLike a lovingly made bottle of wineYou're 39, you're beautiful, you're mine
Like a sailing ship at sea bearing spice and historyYou come swaying to me in your primeYou're 39, you're beautiful and you're mineI'm gonna say it one more timeYou're 39, you're beautiful and you're mine
Since launching its public safety mission in the 1980s, the division has closed or protected about 10,000 sites out of around 23,000 known abandoned mine openings across the state. With so many other mines hidden or undiscovered, Crosby suspects the actual total could be twice high.
The location of the abandoned mine immediately alarmed the officials with the state mining office and the U.S. Forest Service. Its proximity to a popular hiking trail meant a pet or person could slip into the 150-year-old copper and silver mine, a type of accident Crosby said happens a handful of times a year in Colorado.
She also worried it could draw the attention of amateur explorers. Over the last few years, her office has seen a surge of videos on TikTok and YouTube taking viewers inside Colorado's abandoned mines, leaving the filmmakers at risk of hazards like floods, cave-ins and bursts of toxic air.
Despite those problems, she sees the videos as "a mixed bag" for her office. In one case, a video posted online led her office to a previously unknown mine in Boulder County. The state later sealed and remediated the site.
The location is about two miles inside a designated wilderness area, where federal law bans any motorized or mechanized equipment. Trez Skillern, the abandoned mine program manager for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, said those limitations ruled out the possibility of driving or flying in materials and equipment to repair the mine site.
Skillern's office helped craft a $42,000 plan to fix the mine within the limitations of the wilderness protections. The U.S. Forest Service funded about two-thirds of the job and Colorado covered the rest.
To execute the mine-repair plan, federal and state officials turned to Cindy McCollum, a lifelong resident of Eldora, Colo., who owns a team of horses and an excavation company specializing in mine reclamation.
Each bag contained polyurethane foam, better known as "PUF." At the mine site, McCollum's workers would remove a plastic barrier and massage the liquids together, causing them to react and expand into a rigid construction material.
She planned to treat the mine shaft like an open bottle of wine. The foam would form a "cork" to stop anyone from falling or climbing inside. Dirt would then be layered on top to further camouflage the mine shaft.
While McCollum appreciated the work, she thinks the federal rules should allow mechanical equipment to assist with mine remediation. A decade in the U.S. Navy gave her additional expertise in using helicopters to deliver heavy equipment to remote areas.
But McCollum recognized federal law ruled out the possibility. She wore a blue blouse and jeans as she led a train of horses past a series of surprised hikers. After delivering an initial load, she returns to the trailhead for more foam while her employees set about sealing the mine shaft.
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Standing out from the relatively flat topography of Central Florida is Alafia River State Park, a reclaimed phosphate mine with some of the most radical elevation changes in the state. This makes it a hot spot for mountain bikers who traverse the scenic and challenging International Mountain Bike Association trails. 2ff7e9595c
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