All that glitters can have a foul back side: Mercury and gold mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mercury has some characteristics that make it especially hazardous. It is a forceful neurotoxin that is especially harmful to pregnant women (more specifically, the foetus) and young children,(4) and in high concentrations it can lead to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness, or blindness.(5) Furthermore, mercury does not degrade and is therefore a constant source of pollution.(6) Consequently, even though global use of mercury is decreasing, mercury is accumulating in the natural environment due to its characteristic as an increasing pollutant. In addition, as is the case with several hazardous substances, mercury’s reach as a pollutant is global; mercury that is being utilised in one area of the world often spreads and ends up in oceans and other bodies of water where it is absorbed by bacteria. Levels of mercury are then accumulated further up in the food chain and large maritime predators such as swordfish, seals and tuna, which are consumed by some human population groups, are found to contain the highest amounts of the toxic metal.(7) Evidence of the ingestion of mercury via consumption of these marine predators as part of the human diet has been seen across the globe. In France, 44% of children have mercury levels that exceed health recommendations.(8) Another example of the global reach of mercury through consumption of affected marine animals is seen in one of the most remote communities in the entire world, the Inuit in Qaanaaq, Northern Greenland,(9) where the diet of the Inuit consists largely of seal and whale meat.
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