Mercury poisoning from illegal mining a problemDon't worry about it... we'll get around to it next Friday...promise.
https://colombiareports.co/almost-100-colombia-regions-uncontrolled-use-mercury/
Colombia’s Comptroller General’s Office issued a warning to the national government Monday over the unchecked use of mercury in over half of the country’s 32 states.
In total, the administrative oversight body found evidence of mercury contamination in 17 states and 80 municipalities, reportedly the result of illegal mining activity.
Mercury, explains the report, is used to filter gold from other minerals extracted during the mining process and later dumped into nearby water systems, reaching civilian populations once it feeds into the the river systems. Cyanide is another toxin used during the extraction process.
The problem has been detected throughout the north, west, and cetral regions of the country in the states of Amazonas, Antioquia, Bolivar, Caldas, Caqueta, Cauca, Choco, Cordoba, Guainía, Huila, Nariño, Putumayo, Risaralda, Santander, Sucre, Tolima and Valle del Cauca.
Some of the areas, the report mentioned, coincide with zones heavily affected by Colombia’s longstanding armed conflict, which now relies on illegal mining as one of its primary sources of funding.
In one such region, the northwestern state of Choco, officials made previous denunciations earlier this year about the impact environmental contamination was having on the already grave humanitarian crisis affecting the state.