She worries about the use of mercury and its impact on local water supply and fishing. She recalls that in 2000 mercury tests done in the Middle Mazaruni area revealed that high levels of mercury had been deposited and the level of mercury tested in persons was alarming as it stood at 89-96%.
Stabroek News of June 28, 2009 quoted Rickford Vieira, the Regional Goldmining Pollution Abatement Coordinator at the Guyana Office of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as explaining that that studies have proved that mining activities have released mercury into the environment. He referred to a Guyana Environmental Capacity Development Project (GENCAPD) study in 2000, which found that 89%-96% of the population surveyed in Isseneru Village in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) had dangerous levels of mercury contamination. Residents of the community are involved in gold mining and the study found that no one in the village owned a retort, and many kept mercury at home, near sleeping and cooking areas. They also ate more fish than another community that was surveyed. Vieira said tests on persons, who trade in gold and work in an enclosed environment, have revealed high mercury levels.
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