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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Congolese Children

Some of the children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo resort to working in the dangerous mines. These children, as young as eight years old, are exposed to harsh conditions while extracting copper, gold and cobalt metals. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to trillions of dollars worth of minerals, and children are often used because they are able to fit into tight spaces. These children also provide for their families who might otherwise starve. The children earn as much as $1-10 per day. This is a significant amount of money in this area of the world.
These children are exposed to mercury, lead and uranium on a regular basis. Mercury is used to extract gold from the ore. Lead constitutes much of the rock that is crushed in search of gold. They also face the risk of being crushed to death in a collapsed tunnel or falling to their deaths. Several of them become sick from working in such polluted conditions. These young and still-developing children can be contaminated with toxic heavy metals as well.
http://jeffblazar.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/congolese-children/

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