Mercury threat. Editorial.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56525224

Mercury threat. Editorial.
Stabroek News
Monday, July 23rd 2007

Mercury use in the mining industry is leading to elevated levels in the
blood of residents of three villages in the north west. This is the
stark proposition of the findings of a study presented at a workshop
hosted earlier this month by the Institute of Applied Science and
Technology (IAST) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The report said "significant levels of mercury contamination among the
population examined in the three communities show many individuals had
mercury levels within them that were above the guideline value for
mercury levels in humans". The study utilized the guideline value set
by the World Health Organization (WHO) for humans stated as 10 parts
per million (ppm).

It was conducted in three communities: Arakaka, Port Kaituma and
Matthew's Ridge in the North West District. Two expeditions during the
dry and rainy seasons were undertaken and water, fish and human hair
sampled for the metal.

Researcher Lana Lawrence of IAST stated that "mercury contamination is
prevalent in the physical and human environment of the locations
examined in the North West District. They also show that the level of
mercury contamination in the communities examined was significant both
in the wet and dry season". It was felt that the high levels of the
chemical could be attributed to the mining industry and more needs to
be done to eliminate or control the use of mercury.

Lawrence said that it was discovered that while there was some general
knowledge of the negative impact of mercury, few persons know about the
symptoms associated with mercury exposure.

In relation to fish, a food staple in the villages at risk, the results
from the first trip revealed that 29% tested over the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) guideline value of 0.5ppm
while on the second expedition 37% had levels of mercury higher than
the guideline value. Twenty-one fish representing seven species were
tested on the first trip while 90 fish representing 23 species were
tested on the second expedition.

Seven out of 23 persons tested in the first trip had higher levels of
mercury than the WHO guideline value of 10ppm while for the second
expedition 18 out of 22 persons had levels higher than the guideline
value.

This was by no means a comprehensive study and the limitations of
sampling and other shortcomings were recognised. However, when
conjoined with two other issues the findings of the survey pose serious
questions. The WWF representative at the workshop suggested that the
widespread and careless application of mercury is the habit of
Brazilian miners who populate large sectors of the mining business and
feel little restraint. They are also being copied by local miners. The
depredations of Brazilian miners have long been complained of and there
seems to have been an unspoken offset against the technology and
investment that they have poured into the gold and diamond mining
industry in recent years. The social, economic, environmental and law
and order impacts of their presence here must bear closer scrutiny. But
for now mercury has to be addressed.

Second, it was also the view of some at the workshop that the current
management system of monitoring mercury use in gold mining and
enforcement of laws was weak and is in need of strengthening. This has
been a longstanding concern of environmentalists. It was also noted at
the workshop that despite some significant strides there still remained
organizational challenges and concerns including poor enforcement by
government agencies, low level of compliance among miners, low level of
awareness among miners on environmental issues, poor knowledge of the
level and distribution of pollution effects, dissatisfaction in local
communities over the level of consultation and lack of awareness of
safe mercury use practices among others.

In recent years environmentalists have expressed concerns that the
reckless use of mercury in the purification of gold was causing it to
leach into the ecosystem and accumulate in the food chain. There have
been sporadic studies over the years of this problem but as in many
areas the surveys and the promises of action have all collapsed into
nothingness. GENCAPD, a Canada-funded programme, addressed a host of
mining safety issues including the safe use of mercury but it is
unclear if this has had any long-lasting impact. Prior to the results
of the latest study there had been one on the Region Seven village of
Isseneru which highlighted elevated and dangerous mercury levels.
Whether there was any follow-up on this is unclear.

Mercury is a deadly poison which can cause horrible and excruciating
ends and is well remembered from the Minimata disaster in Japan. If as
suggested by the various studies that there is even a risk that
interior villagers with extensive contacts with mining communities are
being exposed to dangerous levels of mercury then the government must
act.

One would expect that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)
and the minister responsible for mining, Prime Minister Hinds, would
take steps to have the studies peer reviewed and a broader survey
undertaken. Simultaneous with this, the regulatory bodies should move
immediately to lessen the risks to communities in these hotspots. GGMC
officers should require mining operations in these areas to demonstrate
safe mining techniques and the use of retorts to capture mercury vapour
should be thoroughly enforced. There should also be regular testing of
the inhabitants of these areas for mercury once a baseline is
established.

The mining industry has pleaded in the past that the raft of
environmental regulations which have been on the table for more than a
decade now would make their business unprofitable. However, there can
be no justification for putting any community at risk, particularly
those remote from the centre and with little ability to move along the
corridors of power. Tailings release from mining operations and the
safe use of mercury are two areas that the industry must begin
complying with rigorously and the regulatory bodies must play their
part.