Going for the Gold Sends Mercury
Down the River
February 03, 2015
Story at-a-glance
-
Illegal gold mining in Peru has increased
significantly since 2000, where high gold prices
continue to attract laborers
-
High levels of mercury were detected both near the
mining operations and hundreds of kilometers
downstream
-
Other leading sources of environmental mercury
pollution include coal-fired power plants and the
use of dental amalgam fillings
By Dr. Mercola
Contrary to the popular image of "panning" for gold, during the
California Gold Rush of the 1800s, gold miners used high-pressure
water cannons to erode hillsides, then ran the sediment through
sluice boxes to find the gold.
However, this wasn't the end of the damage caused by this
destructive mining. Mercury was also widely used, because it helped
the gold to become easily separated from the surrounding rocks and
gravel.
Today, more than 100 years later, areas of California are still
dealing with the tons of leftover mercury pollution. In the Yuba
River Valley in Northern California, for instance, large floods
cause the mercury-contaminated sediment to travel downriver about
once a decade – leading to spikes in mercury in the San Francisco
Bay.1
But it's not only the historic use of mercury in gold mining
that's a problem. Small-scale mining operations in Asia, Africa and
South America still use mercury to mine for gold. It's illegal and
highly toxic to the workers and the environment – and it's now
estimated to be responsible for one-third of mercury pollution
worldwide.2
Widespread Mercury Pollution Revealed in Peru
Duke University researchers conducted the first systematic study
of mercury pollution related to gold mining in Peru's Madre de Dios
region.3
Mining in the area has increased significantly since 2000, where
high gold prices continue to attract laborers – despite the mercury
toxicity risks.
Political and social unrest has ensued, as aside from the mercury
pollution, the mining is responsible for widespread deforestation of
the Amazon rainforest.
The Duke study revealed high levels of mercury concentrations in
river sediment and fish, not only near the mining operations but
also hundreds of kilometers downstream.
The researchers noted:
"This study demonstrates that communities located
hundreds of kilometers downstream of ASGM [artisanal and
small-scale gold mining] activity, including children and
indigenous populations who may not be involved in mining, are at
risk of dietary mercury exposure that exceed acceptable body
burdens."
The international treaty, named the Minamata Convention on
Mercury, requires the phasing out of many mercury-containing
products, including thermometers, by 2020, and also calls for an end
to all mercury mining within 15 years.
But this may not be soon enough, or powerful enough to combat the
widespread illegal mining operations. The treaty takes effect only
after its ratification by 50 nations, which can take three or four
years.
In the meantime, it's estimated that 10 million to 20 million
miners around the world use mercury for gold mining (and artisanal
and small-scale gold mining is the largest use of mercury in the
world).4
As it stands, Peru does not restrict mercury imports even though
it's estimated that 95 percent of it is used for unregulated mining.5
What's the Largest Source of Mercury Contamination in the US?
Mercury pollution is a growing concern around the globe. In the
US (and worldwide), coal-fired power plants are the largest source
of mercury pollution, emitting about 33 tons of mercury into the
environment each year (and contributing to almost half of
all mercury emissions).6
When coal, which is naturally contaminated with mercury, is
burned for electricity, the mercury is released into the air. Large
boilers and heaters powered by coal represent the next largest
source of mercury emissions, followed by steel production and
incinerators, including for cremation.
It may sound surprising, but mercury fillings in the teeth of
someone who dies actually pose a risk to the living. Emissions from
the combustion of mercury fillings during cremation are a
significant contaminator of air, waterways, soil, wildlife, and
food.
Seven to nine metric tons of mercury per year escapes into the
atmosphere during cremations, and it is estimated that, left
unchecked,
crematoria will be the largest single cause of mercury pollution
by 2020.
Sweden now mandates that all mercury fillings be removed prior to
cremation for this very reason, and The European Environment Bureau
is calling for crematoria to be included in new pollution-control
standards for incinerating waste.7
There are even more sources of mercury pollution than
this, sadly. For instance, did you know that, in the US, dentist
offices are the largest source of mercury in wastewater
entering publicly owned treatment works? Dental amalgam, a tooth
filling material that is 50 percent mercury—not silver—continues to
be the leading intentional use of mercury in the US.
What Are YOUR Most Likely Routes of Mercury Exposure?
If you're reading this, you're probably fortunate enough to not
be exposed to the direct effects of mercury from gold mining.
However, you may very well have amalgam fillings in your teeth,
eaten mercury-contaminated seafood or received a mercury-containing
vaccine. These are among the most common sources of mercury exposure
for Americans.
Dental offices generate a variety of amalgam waste that gets
flushed down the drain, unless dentists implement best-management
practices and dentists install and properly maintain amalgam
separators. Such practices will collect:
- Scrap amalgam
- Used, leaking, or unusable amalgam capsules
- Amalgam captured in chairside traps and vacuum pump screens
- "Contact amalgam," including teeth with amalgam restorations
There's a growing global consensus that dental amalgam is a
considerable source of environmental mercury pollution. Several
studies show that about 50 percent of the mercury entering municipal
wastewater treatment plants can be traced back to dental amalgam
waste.
This mercury waste amounts to about 3.7 TONS each
year! An estimated 90 percent is captured by the treatment
plants generally via sewage sludge8
– some of which ends up in landfills, while other portions are
incinerated (thereby polluting the air) or applied as agricultural
fertilizer (polluting your food), or seep into waterways (polluting
fish and wildlife).
In the infographic below, you can see that the mercury used
globally for dental fillings is greater than that used for other
major industrial uses, including lighting, electronic devices, and
more.
The Dangers of Mercury
Mercury is extremely tenacious once in the air, water, and soil;
levels gradually increase over time, as it accumulates. Once in your
body, mercury, a neurotoxin, can harm your nervous system to
differing degrees, depending on how much mercury you've accumulated
in your body. At above average doses, brain functions such as
reaction time, judgment, and language can be impaired. At very high
exposures, mercury can affect your ability to walk, speak, think,
and see clearly.
One 2012 study evaluating the effects of mercury on cognition in
otherwise healthy adults found that those with blood mercury levels
below 5 µg/L had the best cognitive functions.8
Mild impairment was evident at blood mercury levels of 5 to 15 µg/L
and above 15 µg/L, cognition was significantly impaired. If you have
amalgam fillings, there is overwhelming evidence showing mercury is
easily released in the form of vapor each time you eat, drink, brush
your teeth, or otherwise stimulate your teeth.
These mercury vapors readily pass through your cell membranes,
across your blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous
system, where they can cause psychological, neurological, and
immunological problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) also
reports the known toxic effects of mercury exposure, including in
its inhaled vapor form, stating:9
"Mercury is highly toxic and harmful to health.
Approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the
blood through the lungs, causing damages to lungs, kidneys and
the nervous, digestive, respiratory and immune systems. Health
effects from excessive mercury exposure include tremors,
impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional
instability, developmental deficits during fetal development,
and attention deficit and developmental delays during
childhood."
Help Put an End to Mercury Pollution
On a global scale, the Amazon Conservation Association (ACA)
recommends urging your representatives to support Peruvian efforts
to take action through legislation and development assistance. While
the US prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been
taken illegally, the same is not true for minerals like gold. As ACA
notes, similar legislation should be implemented for minerals, which
would make illegally mined gold from Peru illegal to import into the
US.10
On a smaller scale, does your dentist use mercury fillings? On
any patient? If so, it's time that he/she and you had a talk. Let's
face it: the dental amalgam industry -- manufacturers and
pro-mercury dentists -- are among the biggest mercury polluters in
America. It's time for every American consumer (1) to insist on
mercury-free dental fillings, and (2) to spend his or her
hard-earned dollars on the non-polluting dentist, the mercury-free
dentistry.
The Campaign for
Mercury-Free Dentistry, the project organized and led by Charlie
Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice, has made amazing progress
toward mercury-free dentistry. But there's still hard work ahead as
Consumers for Dental Choice is now running education programs for
consumers, holding training sessions for dentists, and organizing
briefings for governments around the world. You can help stop dental
mercury today! Will you please consider a donation to Consumers for
Dental Choice, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to
advocating mercury-free dentistry? Donations are tax-exempt and can
be made online at
www.toxicteeth.org. Checks can be mailed to:
Consumers for Dental Choice
316 F St., N.E., Suite 210
Washington DC 20002
For updates on the movement for mercury-free dentistry, join
Consumers for Dental Choice on
Facebook
or sign up to receive their
newsletter. You can also take a stand with us and tell the EPA
not to let polluting dentists off the hook. It's time to stop
dental
mercury dumping.
Help Support Mercury-Free Dentistry
The use of Amalgam for fillings not only pollutes our mouths, it
also pollutes our environment. We need to end the use of dental
amalgam – a primitive, pre-Civil War pollutant that leads to cracked
teeth – for three reasons:
- The Minamata Convention on Mercury is the game-changer for
dental amalgam. Each nation that signs this comprehensive treaty
against mercury pollution – now numbering over 100, including
the United States – commits itself to scaling down dental
mercury without delay.
- Consumers for Dental Choice, who spearheads the campaign
against amalgam, brings the Minamata Convention home.
Commissioning a Zogby poll, they issued a scathing indictment of
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for covering up
amalgam's mercury from American parents and consumers – and for
putting the US government out of compliance with the pledge it
made at Minamata.
- Your financial support for Consumers for Dental Choice is
now needed. Working with talented environmental, consumer, and
health leaders, Consumers for Dental Choice is launching phase
out campaigns in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Resources to Help You Find a Biological Dentist
The following organizations can help you to find a mercury-free,
biological dentist:
Together, Let's Help Charlie Brown and Consumers for Dental Choice
Get to the Finish Line
Let's help Consumers for Dental Choice get the funding it
deserves. I have found few NGOs as effective, and none as efficient,
as Consumers for Dental Choice. Its small team has led the charge on
six continents -- including ours!
Please make a donation to help Consumers for Dental Choice give
dental consumers, amalgam victims, and parents a strong voice
against amalgam.
Copyright 1997- 2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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