Indigenous and traditional community leaders from Brazil’s Amazon come to the Sperrin Mountains

 contamination by mercury and other heavy metals used in mining stands out, which have caused alarming clinical conditions such as Minamata disease, which causes difficulty or loss of control of body movement (ataxia) and the muscles used for speaking (dysarthria). vision, hearing, smell and taste; memory problems; tremors and paresthesia of extremities. From a survey of 200 residents, almost 60 per cent of the Munduruku people had mercury levels above those considered safe, including pregnant women and their children.

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