Mercury Pollution from Gold Mining

Mercury is so toxic even when in contact with skin that many miners are dying early as a result of working conditions. Meanwhile, mercury is accumulating in the food chain, so that families and bystanders are being poisoned as they eat meals and go about their lives.
Areas of Asia, Africa and South America where gold is mined are being stripped of trees and wildlife. When the mining is over, no restoration of the land is attempted; a virtual desert is left behind. Ponds and streams are contaminated and no longer drinkable. Fish die off and the surviving fish contain mercury at levels that are unsafe for human consumption.
http://suite101.com/article/mercury-pollution-from-gold-mining-a174402