Pulitzer Center: Peru Gold Mining Pollution

But unregulated mining is not just problem in Peru. About 130 million people around the world survive on small-scale mining, most of them in poverty and vulnerable to injury, exploitation, and sometimes death. Small-scale mining accounts for 20 percent of the world's total gold production, but it is also responsible for more mercury pollution to the environment than any other global industry, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
http://pulitzercenter.org/education/peru-bangladesh-water-mining-stephen-sapienza-teacher-resources