Due to the pollution of rivers with mercury

Indigenous communities in Bolivia suffer from serious illnesses

  • Mining operations in rivers. From the source

  • Bolivia's rivers have been severely polluted by the use of mercury in gold extraction. From the source

  • Mercury is a metal that provides food to the population and poisons them at the same time. From the source

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Indigenous peoples in the Bolivian Amazon suffer from mercury pollution, which is used to extract gold from mines and dumped into rivers, particularly in the Beni and Madre de Dios rivers, where the Amazon communities catch the fish that forms the basis of their diet. Mercury is a highly dangerous metal, exposure to which causes serious diseases, which can be especially deadly for children and pregnant women. Ruth Alibaz, an indigenous land and environmental rights advocate in the Bolivian Amazon, said: "We were not fully aware of the dangers of mercury, communities continued to suffer from health problems caused by pollution and began to emerge, such as skin problems, diarrhea in children, abortions in women, and previously unknown symptoms and effects."

Concerned about this situation, the indigenous people asked the Bolivian Documentation and Information Centre to reveal the cause of what was happening to them. The Faculty of Toxicology of the University of Cartagena in Colombia was contacted, which conducted 350 hair tests on individuals from different communities, and the results showed an average of seven parts per million of mercury in their bodies, which is seven times more than safe levels, according to the World Health Organization.

Colombian scientist Jesús Oliviero took the samples and presented the results of the study to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last year. In his report, he noted that through surveys and reports it had been established that a large number of indigenous people suffered from memory loss, trembling in the hand as well as sensory problems, especially those exposed to high levels of mercury pollution. The researchers warn that the pollution could spread to all communities of the Amazon basin and infect miners who use mercury in the region to separate and extract gold from rocks or stones in rivers.

In recent years, gold mining activity has grown exponentially in Bolivia. According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics, 25 tons of gold were exported in 2020 worth $ 1.276 billion, and in 2022 the quantity reached 64 tons worth $ 3.003 billion.

The gold mining boom has increased the demand for mercury. Three to four tons of this toxic metal are used to produce one ton of gold. Miners buy mercury from La Paz and El Alto, where it is stored and sold without clear regulations, exposing more than two million residents in both cities to mercury contamination. "We get poisoned just by walking down the street, customs do not take special measures to regulate mercury imports, moreover, there is no effective control over the use of mercury to extract gold," says well-known ecologist and senator of Bolivia's Plurinational Legislative Assembly, Senator Cecilia Requena. There, dozens of jewelry stores, well protected by surveillance cameras, display mercury in small one-kilogram bottles, and the white bottles bear the brand name "Espanol", which buyers of the substance know well. At the entrances to jewellery stores, one sees small ovens, oxygen pipes and chimneys facing the street.

"We dissolve mercury in these furnaces, where steam comes out of the chimneys, that's how we work," says one shopkeeper. A kilo of mercury costs the equivalent of $286.

In 2015, Bolivia imported 151.5 tons of mercury and one year later, mercury imports reached a record 238.3 tons. In 2020, the country imported 165.2 tons, surpassing other countries. This volume made it one of the largest importers of mercury in the world, according to a statement from the deputy ministry of local trade. Bolivia's main suppliers are Russia and Mexico.

As the Bolivian government moves forward with projects to reduce the use of mercury in mining, Senator Requena expects that it will take several months and progress will depend on state bureaucracy. "Authorities can set up customs and marketing control regulations," she says.

Dozens of jewelry stores, well protected by surveillance cameras, display mercury in small one-kilogram bottles.

During surveys and reports, it was established that a large number of indigenous people suffer from memory loss, trembling in the hand as well as sensory problems, especially those exposed to high levels of mercury pollution.