By the time the rush subsided, Bagega, and seven other villages dotting
the Zamfara countryside, had been ravaged by the deadliest lead
poisoning epidemic in modern history. At least 460 children died and
nearly 2 000 were poisoned. “Lead poisoning can make adults infertile,
but its most severe impact is on children. So we were seeing children
who have been blinded or paralysed. Some have neurological damage, and
that is not usually reversible,” Chouinard said.................................
. At the top of the chain are workers who operate hand-powered grinders.
Sitting amid fumes for hours a day, they earn up to 2 000 naira ($12)
per jute bag of powdered stone. Next come those who mix poisonous
mercury, used to separate the lead from its ore, with their bare hands.......
http://thegreentimes.co.za/illegal-miners-poisoning-is-better-than-poverty/
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