Small gold operations dump more than 30 tons of mercury in rivers and lakes in the Amazon region every year, according to a study by the Carnegie Amazon Mercury Project quoted in Wagner’s report. Exposure can cause cancer, neurological damage and, potentially, shock and death.
“The animals are dying, the fish are dying, the river is polluted by mercury, and also the mercury is damaging the Yanomami people’s health, causing stomach pains and diarrhea,” said Dario Kopenawa Yanomami, vice-president of the Hutukara association that represents the indigenous group. “That’s happening today.”
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