Cyanide is the most dangerous chemical element known to mankind. Yet it is the chemical of choice for mining companies to extract gold from crushed ore. In 1998, the mining industry released over 3.5 billion pounds of toxic chemicals, such as cyanide, arsenic (which is already in the Pearce Elementary School’s drinking water thanks to our Canadian friends at the mine), lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and sulfuric acid. According to EARTHWORKS’ report, published in 2004, a non-profit organization that watchdogs the worldwide mining industry, more than 90% of the 2,500 tons of gold produced annually around the world is extracted through the use of cyanide-leaching techniques.
One teaspoon of a 2 percent cyanide solution can kill a person, but only a microscopic amount of cyanide in water is lethal to fish, birds, and other wildlife species. And, although chemically it can break down, it can also take on altered forms capable of wreaking havoc on plant life, animal life and human beings.
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