Mercury in mining: Poison versus profit

Today, it is almost unimaginable for an artisanal miner to run a mining operation without the aid of this silver magic portion. In fact, those miners that are new to this business cannot imagine how their colleagues managed to do without it.
But, with this lucrative practice also comes dreadful health consequences.
According to Dr. Gyagenda Joseph Ogavu, a physician at Nsambya hospital, mercury is a heavy metal that is not easily absorbed by living organisms, including humans.
“This mercury will accumulate in the kidney, liver, skin and lungs causing permanent mental disability and a range of other conditions,” he told Oil in Uganda. “If it gets to the lungs, it is very dangerous because it can get to the blood and easily destroy the covering of the nerves.”
Studies have also associated human exposure to mercury with emotional instability, insomnia, neuromuscular problems, infertility, headaches and a host of other sicknesses.
http://goxi.org/profiles/blogs/mercury-in-mining-poison-versus-profit