Most of the miners lack protective clothing and equipment and are exposed to grave dangers of collapsed mine tunnels or toxic chemicals used in gold extraction and processing such as mercury.
The problem does not end here. The miners also end up poisoning people who depend on the rivers for their food with mercury and other toxins used in the extraction process.
“This is the water we depend on in dry spells but now with miners releasing dirt and toxins into it, we fear for our lives,” says Janet Rioba, a Tabesi resident, in reference to the ongoing pollution of River Tabesi.
Miners have for centuries used mercury to separate gold from rock or soil. But when the heavy metal seeps into the soil, rivers and the food chain it causes serious health problems such kidney failure, nervous breakdown and acute anaemia, which may not show symptoms for years, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
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