Elevated Mercury Concentrations In Humans Of Madre de Dios, Peru

Artisanal mining worldwide is responsible for one third of all mercury released into the environment – approximately 1000 tons/year [7]. As of 2009 Peru was importing mercury at a rate of 130 tons per year [8], over 95% of which is being used directly in artisanal gold mining within the country (Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas del Peru in [4]). This creates an enormous potential for mercury exposure to miners themselves and those living within the surrounding area. The location of Madre de Dios at the headwaters of the Amazon basin creates a potential transportation and diffusion of this environmental health problem throughout a major portion of the Amazon River Basin and ultimately the world’s oceans.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0033305