Indigenous Women in Peru and Nicaragua Face Mercury Contamination from Small-Scale Gold Mining

Contamination by mercury used in small-scale gold mining has resulted in high mercury levels in Indigenous women in communities downstream from gold mining operations in Peru and Nicaragua, according to a new study by IPEN. The study found that almost all women tested (99%) had body levels of mercury above the safety threshold recommended recently by experts, and most (88%) had levels above the current US EPA safety levels. Next month, the Minamata Convention on Mercury holds its sixth Conference of Parties meeting, and today IPEN is co-hosting a pre-COP webinar to highlight the concerns around mercury used in gold mining.