"These are basically poor farmers from the Andes who have come to the Madre de Dios," said Luis E. Fernandez, a visiting researcher at Stanford University who is part of a scientific team studying the impacts of Amazonian gold mining. "They are unaware of the risks of mercury, to themselves or the environment."
According to Fernandez, there are as many as 40,000 illegal miners in the area, operating with no permits and little government oversight. A black market has sprouted for both gold and mercury, he said, part of a wider illegal economy that has made Puerto Maldonado – the major town in the region – a volatile and often dangerous place.
When the miners bring their gold to town, they attempt to sell it at numerous small shops that have sprouted across Puerto Maldonado. To make sure they are paying for the exact weight, the shop owners heat up the gold to burn off the residual mercury (which is heavier than gold), wafting mercury vapors into surrounding neighborhoods.
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