Risky Work in Indonesia’s Gold Fields:SLIDE SHOW

 A gold miner held ore containing gold. The ore is processed in sites among residential areas in villages. It is tumbled with other ingredients in cylinders called balls, after which mercury is added. Workers then burn off the mercury using an open flame, leaving the gold nuggets.....
A gold miner carrying a sack of ore. According to the United Nations Environment Program, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, also known as A.S.G.M., is responsible for 37 percent of global mercury emissions and is the largest source of air and water mercury pollution......
A villager used mercury to process crushed ore at a so-called ball mill in Cisitu, a village in Banten Province, Indonesia. The mercury binds particles of gold together, forming an amalgam. This is then burned to remove the mercury......
 Studies done in other regions of Indonesia, including some by the University of Mataram on Lombok Island, showed elevated mercury levels in people working in the processing of gold and dysfunctional motor skills among local children.......
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/01/03/business/international/03gold-ss.html