The increased risk of poisoning in Nigeria will largely be a result of prolonged exposure to mercury during artisanal gold mining and consumption of contaminated fish and shell fish by inhabitants of coastal towns in riverine areas like the Niger Delta.
A rigorous and comprehensive study needs to be designed and conducted in collaboration with oil industry to evaluate the severity and extent of mercury pollution from oil exploration and also numerous unregulated oases of gold mining sites throughout the country.
In addition, clinical and epidemiological surveys, including chemical estimation of mercury levels in hair samples of inhabitants, should be carried out to assess the burden of mercury-related diseases in the vulnerable coastal communities.
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