Indonesia: Northern Sulawesi

After my intro day to the park, I was able to visit with community members and gather information on how health-environment relationships could be investigated in the area. One of the biggest potential disasters in the valley results from illegal gold mining and processing. The mines, high on hillsides within the park, result in forest destruction as trees are cleared for camps and burned by accidental and intentional fires set by miners. In the valley, gold is processed using mercury, which contaminates water discharged into the valley’s irrigation system. Workers in the gold processing plant work barehanded with mercury before it is burned off in open fires. The potential health damage from mercury poisoning is stunning.
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