Name: Scientists study Amazon gold mining’s link to infant disabilities
Uploaded: 2025-11-01T10:00:40.380Z
Duration: 4 min 48 s
Description: Brazilian public health researchers have found mounting evidence in the state hosting the United Nations climate summit COP30 that mercury poisoning from illegal gold mining has caused widespread neurological problems and disabilities in Indigenous children.

Brazilian public health researchers have found mounting evidence in the state hosting the United Nations climate summit COP30 that mercury poisoning from illegal gold mining has caused widespread neurological problems and disabilities in Indigenous children.

Jacareacanga

Researchers are conducting a multi-year study in Brazil's Tapajós river region to examine the impact of mercury contamination from illegal gold mining on indigenous communities, particularly focusing on infant and child disabilities. Preliminary findings show elevated mercury levels among mothers and children, with neurological conditions observed in several young residents.

The Brazilian government has increased monitoring and public health initiatives in response, but mercury contamination remains a persistent threat due to its lasting presence in the environment. The issue is expected to be highlighted at the upcoming United Nations Climate Summit COP30 in Belém, as global leaders address threats to tropical rainforests and their inhabitants.

Scientists study Amazon gold mining’s link to infant disabilities

In this indigenous community along Brazil's Tapajós river, women say they fear getting pregnant. That's because they're noticing a rise in disabilities, especially among the young. After years of illegal gold mining, rivers that have been the lifeblood of the Munduruku people now carry mercury, threatening the health of unborn children. Marquinhos Sá lives in the village of Saicinza. I want to do the mercury test to see if it's mercury or not, to find out. While scientists have warned of the risks that mercury could pose to indigenous children in the Amazon, none have yet established a causal link to disabilities in these communities. But a groundbreaking multi-year study on the impacts of mercury contamination here may soon explain why kids like three-year- old Hani Ketlin have disorders not explained by genetic tests. Researchers are collecting data on neurological issues associated with mercury contamination, from acute brain malformation to memory issues. Dr. Luniely da Cruz Caldeira is a pediatric neurologist. We are managing to conduct a longitudinal study evaluating both pregnant women and children exposed to mercury contamination. This is an at-risk population, and until now we haven't known or identified the possible signs resulting from this exposure. Preliminary data from the study indicates that Hani is one of 36 people in the area, mostly children who share similar neurological conditions. Her father, Josielton Sá, has worked as a miner near their village for years, following the footsteps of his father, Jose Nildo. Mercury is used to bind tiny specks of gold extracted from riverbanks. Jose Nildo told Reuters he knew mercury was dangerous, but like other families in this community, mining about 30 grams of gold a week provides just enough income to get by. Mauricio Sá is a local father of two. I'm very worried because the water is very contaminated by the mining. Mercury has also been found in surubin and other fish that are staples for these communities. We bathe, we also drink water from the agarapé. All of this is very... I'm very worried about my children. We also fish in the river, and the water is very polluted. But Chief Zildamar Munduruku, who is also a nurse, says the problem is complicated. If he tells his people to stop eating the fish, according to health guidance, they'll go hungry. According to the research that was done, the first entry here, the result came back very high. With the result of mercury here, due to our diet, our food, carnivorous fish, we know that there is mercury in the body of animals, fish. Mercury can build up in the placentas and breast milk of pregnant women. A 2021 study by Public Health Institute Fiocruz found that 10 of 15 mothers tested in three Munduruku villages had elevated mercury levels. As part of the new study, the team at Fiocruz has been following 176 pregnant women and mothers to test babies during their first years of life. Researchers have so far found that, on average, the women had mercury levels five times higher than the Brazilian Health Ministry considers safe, and their babies had three times that level. Diplomats and world leaders are set to gather in November for the United Nations Climate Summit COP30 in Belém, a city that sits at the mouth of the Amazon River. Organizers are calling it the Forest COP, with the hope it will focus global attention on threats like illegal mining to tropical rainforests and their inhabitants. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has driven thousands of miners out of indigenous lands since he returned to office in 2023. Brazil's Health Ministry said in a statement that the government has stepped up monitoring of mercury levels in the Munduruku territory, trained public health officials to identify early signs of mercury poisoning, and invested in clean water sources for remote communities. But the mercury left behind cannot easily be broken down as it cycles through air, water, and soil, fueling a lasting health crisis.

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