Mercury: A Global Pollutant

And the thing with mercury is that it is a truly global pollutant because it travels so well. 40% of mercury released by artisanal gold mining goes directly into the atmosphere and circulates around the globe before landing in oceans and rivers, contaminating fisheries worldwide. The remainder (about 600 tonne) goes into local waterways and soils but much of this may later also escape to the atmosphere.  So not only are miners and their families (including some 600,000 child gold miners!) at risk from mercury, but also children and pregnant women half a world away
http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/blog/?tag=gold-mining