Approximately 10 to 15 million people around the world -- including 4.5 million women and 600,000 children -- earn their living from this dangerous method of mining, the U.N. says. Millions more downstream from the mercury emissions are also at risk.
Some 95 percent of all mercury used in artisanal mining is released into the environment says the UN Industrial Development Organization. Mercury causes permanent damage to the brain and kidneys, and, in the case of pregnant women, to the development of the fetus. Symptoms include shaking and neurological problems.........
The number of children and adults at risk of serious health damage from toxic waste, including neurological impairment, death or shortened life spans, reaches 100 million -- more than at risk from AIDS or TB. Yet it's rarely in the news like famines, earthquakes and diseases which could travel across borders and impact the West.
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