To date, the illegal alluvial mining of gold has destroyed 18,000 hectares of a total of about 77 million hectares of the Peruvian Amazon – 57.6% of the country – largely as a result of the use of mercury, according to Ráez Luna.
The fish in Madre de Dios – the region most affected by illegal gold mining in Peru – have mercury levels above those permitted by the Word Health Organization, according to a study carried out in 2009 by the Carnegie Institution for Science. In some cases, levels have reached 1.12 ppm (parts per million), well above the 0.5 ppm limit.
“Methylmercury has been detected in the waters contaminated by illegal mining,” Ráez Luna said. “This compound is highly toxic and easily enters into living organisms such as plants, animals and human beings. It mainly affects the nervous system, with serious consequences for the mental development of children.”
The damage caused will not immediately result in a hospital visit, Ráez Luna added, but it leads to children’s “having an IQ that is five, 10 or 15 points lower than they would have had in optimum environmental conditions.”
No comments:
Post a Comment