May 17, 2022

09:05

Ívina Garcia – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – Illegal gold mining has caused serious problems in the Tapajós Basin, located in western Pará. According to a report by the Federal Public Ministry of Pará, at least six different rivers in the Tapajós basin are infected with mercury from gold mining: Teles Pires, Tapajós, Cururu, Kabitutu, das Tropas and Kadriri.

The report also estimates that illegal gold mining dumps about 221 tons of mercury annually into the bed of the Tapajós. All this survey led the MPF to convene a public hearing, which will be held on May 20, at 2pm, in the Wilson Fonseca auditorium, in the Rondon unit of the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa).

Research shows that 57.9% to 99.09% of Munduruku indigenous people evaluated by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Federal University of Western Pará (Ufopa), in the Tapajós River Basin, Western Pará, have mercury levels above safe limits for humans.

The MPF report brings even more alarming data. According to the research made available to the agency, 7 out of 10 adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age present high concentrations of mercury. Among children under 12 there are 8 out of 10; among children under 5, 4 out of 10 present mercury samples.

Sources of contamination

According to technical studies, mercury contamination levels have already reached serious levels. The study also verified that 72.72% of those examined reported some sign or symptom of contamination, and that among these, at least 87.5% were of neurological origin.

The research also pointed out that the fish caught in the region, a food source for many indigenous people, is one of the main pathways that lead to mercury contamination at levels far above the limits recognized as safe. There is no doubt that fish caught and consumed are also infected with the ore.

“Therefore, they are at permanent risk of becoming ill due to the toxic effects of mercury in the body, as demonstrated throughout this report. This grim scenario is even more worrisome for women of childbearing age and children under 5 years of age, populations that are known to be more vulnerable to the harmful effects of contamination,” reports the research made available by the MPF.

Organization of the hearing

The public consultation will count with a plurality of representatives. Institutions such as the Rural Workers Union of the Municipality of Santarém, the Health and Happiness Project, the Society for Environmental Research and Protection, the Amazon Defense Group, the Lower Amazon Fishermen’s Movement, the Tapajós Vivo Movement, the Tapajós and Arapiuns Indigenous Council, the Pastoral Commission for Fishermen of the Archdiocese of Santarém, WWF Brazil, social pastoral work of the Archdiocese of Santarém, among others, will participate.

The target audience for the public hearing is organized civil society, governmental and non-governmental institutions whose objective is the protection of health and the environment. Those interested in participating should qualify through registration, which can be made at the headquarters of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Santarem, at 915 Marechal Castelo Branco Avenue, or by e-mail [email protected] with the express indication in the subject of the words “Registration in public hearing”, until the eve of the event, and at the place of the hearing, until the beginning of the works, and the number of expositors may be limited at the discretion of the coordination of the works.