Poisoning the Indigenous: Peru’s Mercury Levels 5x Higher Than Normal

Indigenous people, especially children, in Peru’s southeastern Madre de Dios region have high levels of mercury in their bodies, a new study has found.
Analysis of hair samples from urban and rural residents of the Amazonian region showed that three-quarters of the participants in the study had mercury levels above 1 part per million, the “reference dose” or maximum limit established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The average level in indigenous communities was 5.3 parts per million, five times above the EPA’s reference dose and more than twice the level found in non-indigenous communities, according to Luis Fernández of the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University, who led the study.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/09/17/poisoning-indigenous-perus-mercury-levels-5x-higher-normal-151314