This time, the miners are using mercury to collect the gold, which then mixes with the mud and drains into local waterways, NBC News said. The mercury is ingested by nearby residents from the fish they eat, the report added. And then there's the gigantic holes left in the ground by the miners when they're done digging.
The gold rush has irritated locals, and poisoned them as well. On average, villagers in Manauni have mercury levels in their blood six times higher than the World Health Organization deems healthy, according to a study performed earlier this year by the Carnegie Institution for Science.
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