Artisanal, small-scale gold mining is dangerous to the miners’ health and creates a hazardous level of mercury—a neurotoxin—in the food chain at least 350 miles downstream.
Researchers, who looked at gold-mining operations in Peru, also report that the miners’ practices contaminate local soil, sediment, and water resources.
The team looked at the wide-reaching effects of mercury contamination from gold-mining operations in Peru’s Southern Amazon region of Madre de Dios. The same mining practices are also present throughout South America, as well as in Africa and Asia.
No comments:
Post a Comment