Mercurial contamination warrants action by the State
Monday, 23 February 2009
The situation is more serious than many people imagine, but is attacked and this dangerous time soon in the state will have a legion of Tarados Bolívar, mental illness, nervous system and respiratory tract.

The fatal consequences resulting from the mercury pollution, both for the ecosystem Guayanan to the lives of hundreds of Venezuelans who live in mining activity, should deeply concern the National Government.

This deserves very serious problem of which requires strong action to correct or confront those who contradict or violating rules, they are contaminated with mercury to the Caroni River, Lake Guri, Río Paragua, Río Aza, Ori Rio, Rio Hacha, Karume Rio, Rio Supamo, Rio Chiguao, Carrao River, River Yuruari, Icabaru River, the Rio Pao, Rio Cuyuní, Antabari Rio, Rio Caura and Rio Caroni. The area most affected by the indiscriminate use of mercury is the Piar Municipality, especially the sectors concerned and all contaminated riverside Supamo, which are currently more than 140 teams working miners mostly foreigners destroying the flora and fauna diverting the river channel, said Alejandro Lanz, Director General of the Center for Ecological Research in Venezuela

The mercury pollution is more serious than many people imagine. If no time attacking this dangerous situation would not hesitate to say we have soon in this city as elsewhere in the state of Bolivar, a legion Tarados, mental illness, nervous system and respiratory tract.

In this sense, their size and so that our readers have a clear idea of the serious consequences resulting from the mercury pollution, we would literally transcribe a research conducted by the citizens Alejandro Lanz, Oswaldo Quintero, Nestor Duarte and Manuel Navas on mercury pollution in the area of gold Km.88.

The research study states: ... "The use of mercury (Hg) in the extraction of gold in Guyana is due to several reasons. These include ease of acquisition, also, and expeditious use as it requires no sophisticated technology for use by the miners. "

Mercury in the riverbed

In the mining land, the miners usually "baptize" with the cut mercury to work, apart from dumping mercury into the "guatajol" (Waterhole), ie in the pit dug to pump mene. Also, mercury is placed in the sheds where pipotes mene extracted before submission to the tame. Likewise, both on land and work in dredging the pond, mercury is used in the layers of copper amalgam of the Tames and finally in the rafts for the final recovery from the concentrate of the tame.

Amalgamated gold is then subjected to the action of heat to evaporate the mercury torches and get the gold mine called, ready for sale. As shown, these practices absurd to say the least, cause a significant fraction of the mercury used pass directly to the soil, sediment, water and air and start their journey in the geochemical cycling of the environment as a pollutant.

Part of metallic mercury (quicksilver) remain in the river beds, if the physical-chemical and environmental permitting; part will evaporate into the atmosphere, a certain amount will be transported in the suspended solids and another fraction will be absorbed by the algae and a significant proportion will be turned into organic compounds by the action of micro-organisms, mainly the transformation is a methyl and ethyl mercury.

The methyl-mercury is readily absorbed by fish and fixed in their tissues. McKim (1974) found that fish accumulate up to 10,000 times the mercury concentration of the water-dwelling. Subsequent laboratory studies (McKim and others) indicate that some species of fish up to 27,000 times as concentrated. The highest concentrations are found in predatory fish that are towards the top of the aquatic food chain (such might be the case in pavón).

Exposure to Pollution Mercurial

Mercury and its components enter humans through three principal routes: air, water and food. In the case of the mining communities would add a fourth alternative: direct contact with the skin of mercury.

Biological activity and toxicity of this element depends on the route (ingestion, inhalation and contact), and the extent and magnitude of exposure. The most active compounds are the salts of toxicological aquilmercurio just compounds arising from the use of Hg in the work of our mining Guayana.

In Venezuela, we have no data on Hg concentrations in the air, but normal levels in other countries doctors in rural, urban and industrial 0001-6 ng/m3; 0,1-5 ng/m3 0 ,5-2 ng/m3, respectively, with the highest concentrations during the winter.

Through the air, the more pollution is mercury vapor, and that approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed through the respiratory system.

Globally known cases of fatal and severe poisoning by this route. In general, acute poisoning may occur when heated mercury amalgamated or objects in enclosed spaces. In the case of this operation performed in open spaces, although minor poisoning, manifest their long-term sequelae, namely a chronic poisoning.

Pollution

The implications of this type of pollution and its effects, of major importance in our case of mining, because usually the last stage of recovery of gold, using torches, lighters and even stoves to burn and evaporate the amalgam mercury. Needless to say, that even without heating the mercury, due to its high vapor pressure, it will evaporate by itself, and being in an enclosed air concentrations reached more than 100 times the limit of tolerance.

Inhaled mercury passes the bronchi, the alveoli and the blood causing poisoning, confirmed with experiments and autopsies of both animals and humans. During the work of mining, both in water (dredged) and on the ground, substantial amounts of mercury are discharged into water.

Once mercury enters water bodies, undergoes caused by microorganisms that produce compounds of methyl and ethyl mercury, which, in turn, are metabolically stable, delaying its degradation to inorganic compounds and, therefore, their elimination .

Both phytoplankton and zooplankton are able to concentrate inorganic mercury and the products of its methylation in the pollutant entering the food chain. In upper trophic levels is a biological magnification from consumers of seaweed, with concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 0.18 ug / gr.Hg to predators such as fish, where the concentration is 0.01 to 5 , 82 ug / Hg.

The consumption of contaminated fish, either by humans or other species, will mean his poisoning. The effects of this pollution have been widely described in accidents in Japan, Italy, Canada, Iraq and Poland, where some thousands of people have been affected by mercury pollution.

The methyl-mercury, due to its lipid solubility, penetrates easily into cells and can act on lipid groups affecting the enzyme system. Derivatives of methyl mercury is almost completely absorbed and cause irreversible damage and genetic lesions affecting the reproductive cells and genetic material in the chromosomes of normal cells.

This is because altering the nuclear material which regulates cell functions. The rupture and abnormal division of chromosomes 0,05 and 0.6 ug / g, and for compounds of phenyl ethyl Mercury in experimental animals. The effect occurs at meiosis, resulting in an abnormal distribution of chromosomes into daughter cells, causing an effect similar to the Mongols. The methyl-mercury penetrates the blood brain barrier in greater proportion than the value for mercury is distributed in the brain, preferably by destroying the cells of auditory and visual centers. Press Center of Ecological Research in Venezuela


Symptoms of Contamination

There are a number of symptoms observed in individuals contaminated with Hg, which variations are a function of the type of compounds that cause food poisoning. Thus we have, in case of inhalation of metallic mercury vapor, the following: Damage to the respiratory tract and oral cavity, gum ulcers and inflammation in bronchial accesses cough, chest pain and impaired breathing, vomiting and diarrhea, arousal and irritability, muscle trembling.

In the case of poisoning by organic mercury compounds (methyl, ethyl, etc.). The common symptoms are irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, dermatitis and eczema, sensory disturbance in various parts of the tongue and around the lips , atexia (disturbance of the nervous system), concentric constriction of visual fields, hearing loss, mental disturbances.