Not needed at all Almost like the local government is afraid to act. Not good for business. Nothing to do with SA. Does help either. Cheers.
MERCURY POLLUTION THREATENS TOURISM SITES
A new report has declared Sekotong, in Southwest Lombok, a mercury emissions 'hotspot'.
The Global Mercury Hotspots report released in Indonesia in January this year is part of a larger project being conducted by the Biodiversity Research Institute and Ipen, a global network of non-governmental organisations, to raise awareness about mercury emissions in the country.
Mercury contamination from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in Sekotong threatens the surrounding tourist areas, rice fields, forests and marine environment, BaliFokus Foundation has stated, based on its recent findings.
“This report clearly demonstrates the urgent need to reduce overall mercury emissions. In Sekotong, the ball-mills are concentrated in residential clusters and release very high levels of mercury vapor to the air and the environment, risking the workers' and community’s health,” said Armyn Gita, a programme manager at BaliFokus, an NGO that deals in environmental development and waste-water treatment.
In Sekotong, almost every household operates a ball-mill unit (used to process rock), located in the backyard of homes, on community lands and near crop fields. Male and female workers at these sites process ore all day long and are exposed to mercury vapour since they do not use any protection equipment.
Yuyun Ismawati, an advisor with BaliFokus and the head of Ipen’s ASGM/Mining division, said that the reports showed the need for a treaty that truly mandates mercury emissions reductions.
The dangers of mercury poisoning have been known for centuries: exposure to high levels can permanently damage the brain and kidneys, while its harmful effects can be passed from a mother to her developing fetus, resulting in brain damage, mental retardation, blindness, seizures and an inability to speak.
The joint report of BaliFokus, Arnika Association and the International Persistent Organic Pollutants Elimination Network’s (IPEN) heavy metals working group states that the average mercury level in hair samples from Sekotong is more than three times higher than the US Environmental Protection (EPA) Agency reference dose of 1 ppm.
The three-month long research project that ran between May and July 2012 took 20 hair samples from a mixed group of participants, including miners, housewives, students, fish vendors and farmers, and lead to findings of an average mercury level of 3.63 ppm in Sekotong.
There are around 5,000 miners operating more than 100 ball mill units in an area of about 1,200 hectares.
The report is also in accordance with the conclusion of an assessment on environmental mercury discharge at Sekotong, published in the 2012 “Journal of Environmental Monitoring”, which measured mercury levels in rice produced in Sekotong and concluded that the recorded methyl mercury values represented a potential threat to the health of the local residents.
BaliFokus reported that certain places in Sekotong had even been offering gold mining tours for tourists. “[The tour] lets the guests pan for or extract gold and take it home. Of course, there is no protection or mention about mercury ever raised by the tour guides,” said Yuyun.
The illegal mining and gold processing activities have occurred in the Sekotong region over the past five years, especially at Buwun Mas, Kerato and Pelanggan villages.
The hills around the region are honeycombed with illegal mines and the number of local people killed in landslides and mine collapses is now estimated to total hundreds.
Environmental watchdogs and mining experts have repeatedly warned the Lombok government about the dangers of mercury contamination – not only to the people operating and living alongside the mills, but to the pristine environment of Southwest Lombok, which has huge potential for tourism development, particularly marine tourism.
West Lombok Regent, Zaini Aroni, has been promising for years to restrict illegal gold mining in the southwest by issuing permits which would limit how many people could mine, the depth of the mines and in what areas they could mine. He has also pledged to run educational programmes to teach local villagers about the dangers of mercury poisoning and how to institute safe mining practices.
Until now, none of these measures have been introduced and the dangers continue to rise.