A recently formed union is seeking overseas aid to help determine whether the headquarters of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) on Brickdam is safe from mercury contamination.
The Guyana Civil Servants and General Workers Union (GCS&GWU) represents employees of the GGMC and protested for several weeks over the operations of a gold purifying lab of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) which had been operating in the GGMC compound. The GGB lab has since been relocated from the compound after sustained protests but concerns remain among GGMC workers about their health particularly since they say that two of their co-workers have died of kidney-related ailments which could be possibly linked to mercury contamination.
Mercury can be a deadly poison as it builds up in the system.
