Apart from violence, illegal gold mining involves the use of liquid mercury to separate the gold from surrounding material. This substance, which is highly toxic to human health, is released into the environment and is absorbed by fish and other links in the food chain. Clandestine mines use up to a kilogram of mercury for every kilogram of gold produced and the WWF network estimate that 30 metric tons of mercury are released into Guiana’s environment, including protected areas and indigenous lands, every year.
http://www.wwf.org.br/informacoes/english/?37842/Brazil-and-France-must-act-against-illegal-gold-mining
No comments:
Post a Comment