THE Government has stepped up efforts to ban the use of mercury, which is rampant among small scale miners.
Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Mangaliso Ndlovu made a clarion call on small scale gold miners to stop using mercury, urging them to find alternative technologies for gold processing.
He was addressing parliamentarians in Kadoma this Friday during a sensitisation workshop on the Minamata Convention on Mercury International Treaty and the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol.
“The leadership of the small-scale gold miners, I appeal to you to raise awareness to your membership of the dangers of using Mercury, related to that I also appeal to you to research on alternative technologies available for gold processing,” said Minister Ndlovu.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Climate and Tourism, and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Concilia Chinanzvavana expressed concern over the continued use of the deadly metal and promised total support from her committee in raising awareness on the dangers of mercury use and pushing for the ratification of the Minamata Convention.
“I’m convinced that the entire committee will do the right thing and support the ratification by garnering the support of other legislators in other committees and also taking the lead in the ratification as well as awareness initiatives,” said Honourable Chinanzvavana.
The World Health Organisation considers mercury as one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern.
Inhalation of mercury vapour can have harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and organs such as lungs and kidneys.
In mines, mercury is used to recover minute pieces of gold that are mixed in soil and sediments.
Although mercury is a naturally occurring element, it is highly toxic to humans, animals, and the environment when not handled properly. Prolonged and high exposure to mercury by inhalation damages the nervous, digestive, and immune systems.
It can also contaminate bodies of water and subsequently fish. When ingested, mercury can accumulate in living organisms, and cause serious damage to the nervous system after it reaches high levels. In humans, this has been referred to as Minamata disease, named after a city in Japan where it was first observed in humans and animals that ingested mercury-laden fish and shellfish caught in the Minamata Bay.
The disease’s most notable symptoms are convulsions, loss of muscle coordination, and damage in vision, speech, and hearing.
Pregnant women who are exposed to mercury are also susceptible to giving birth to babies with congenital diseases
