To extract gold from the rocks the men and women use mercury, a toxin which they rinse with melted ice from the glacier. The water flows down the mountain into pools, puddles and rivers.
“The water used in mining is just dumped and all the communities downstream … which are strictly farming areas, receive polluted water to support their livestock and crops,” said Federico Chavarry, environmental crimes prosecutor for the region. “These same waters carry heavy metals directly to Lake Titicaca.”
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