Mercury Content Rises Rapidly In Fish SE Peru's Amazon; Avg. Gold Shop Hg Output = 100 Mw Coal Plant
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Researchers found that 9 of the 15 most consumed fish species sold in Puerto Maldonado had average levels of mercury above the international mercury reference limit of 0.3 part per million (ppm). In addition, the average mercury levels increased in 10 of the 11 fish species from 2009 to 2012, indicating the aquatic ecosystems are frequently altered by mercury, most likely due to artisanal gold mining activity.
"Initially confined to areas around the main stem of the Madre de Dios River, mining has expanded into dozens of formerly pristine tributaries, rivers, streams and lakes all over the department of Madre de Dios," Fernandez explains.
Mercury contamination is not restricted to wildlife. Many native communities and remote rural populations rely on wild caught fish for protein. Based on the survey, 92 percent of participants reported that they consume fish caught from local rivers and lakes on a regular basis. Sixty-four percent of the adults consume at least one high mercury fish species each week.
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In addition to the consumption of contaminated fish, 25 percent of the adults reported working directly in gold mining. Scientists believe the residents are exposed to the toxin from gold mining and the inhalation of airborne mercury in gold buying shops located in the center of the city. "Gold shops boil off the mercury found in the amalgams that miners create in the mining areas and sell to gold merchants," Fernandez explains. "Recent studies of gold shops in Peru indicate that an average gold shop can emit as much mercury as a 100 megawatt coal fired power plant each year."
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http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0528-avery-mercury-gold-mining.html