Mercury is a contaminant of global concern and potent neurotoxin that affects human and wildlife health predominantly through the consumption of fish with elevated mercury concentrations. Mercury is used in ASGM practices to extract gold using amalgamation. However, this mercury-gold amalgam is heated to remove the mercury, releasing the contaminant into the air where it can deposit into local aquatic and terrestrial environments (e.g., soil, trees, crops) or be transported worldwide. Once deposited, mercury can bioaccumulate rapidly in the food web leading to fish consumption concerns.
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