Often mining illegally, miners rely on unsafe, mobile extraction methods, using mercury to create an amalgam and then burning it off to collect the gold it captures. The industry not only damages the environment but also brings serious health risks to miners and mining communities.
Recently, the United Nations Environment Program (UN Environment) organized a media trip to mining communities in Camarines Norte. In a shed beside a mining tunnel, Charito Elcano, a 60-year-old woman told Xinhua that her brother and one nine-year-old boy died of inhaling mercury almost a decade ago. Now she is a strong advocate of mercury-free method
No comments:
Post a Comment