Many members of her family, including her father, are artisanal miners who use mercury to extract gold from ore
As a result, many of the miners, including her father, are now experiencing heath problems.
"I often see my father having difficulty in breathing," Jumanin said, adding that she fears he too could suffer a similar fate to her mother and grandfather.
Man people are still unaware of the danger of mercury, despite moves of late by the government to curb its use.
In Kujangsari, a village in West Java, Lilis Jasmin Parisa admitted to not realizing that mercury had caused birth defects in her son.
"Not until I was told so," said Parisa who also lives in a house located next to a gold processing site, where mercury is also commonly used.
Mercury is highly toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to the development of a fetus and young children, according to the World Health Organization.
Ingestion of mercury has harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, the lungs and kidneys, and can be fatal.
Symptoms can include mental retardation, seizures, vision and hearing loss, delayed development, language disorders and memory loss.
No comments:
Post a Comment