A June 2015 study done for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Guianas has voiced concern about mercury pollution from Small-Scale Gold Mining (SSGM) in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana and has called for a commitment to ban the gold purifying metal and to stringently monitor its trade.
Entitled ` Small-Scale Gold Mining Related Mercury Contamination in the Guianas: A Review’, the study by Legg ED, Ouboter PE and Wright MAP focused on mercury trade; the presence of mercury in the air, freshwater, soil and marine environments; entry into the food chain and exposure of the human population. It collated data from a range of studies on these areas. Mercury builds up in the food chain and can lead to acute poisoning and death.
What was evident from the review was that studies done in Guyana were outdated, in some cases going back to the 1990s. However the report cited more recent data for French Guiana in particular and Suriname which it said should lead to
