Article source: Guardian Environment
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Mercury contamination from artisanal and small-scale gold mining is poisoning rainforest communities across the Colombian Amazon. The heavy metal accumulates in fish – a dietary staple – and drinking water, causing neurological damage, kidney failure, and birth defects. Communities in Leticia and surrounding regions report visible health impacts: tremors, memory loss, skin lesions. The problem is neither new nor invisible to regulators; it persists because enforcement remains negligible and demand for unverified gold continues upstream. This is not an environmental issue divorced from human rights. It is a direct supply-chain failure: gold enters global jewellery and electronics markets without traceability, certification, or accountability for the health cost borne by people with no say in the extraction. Artisanal mining accounts for roughly 20 per cent of global gold production. Without mandatory due diligence requirements – tracing gold to source and certifying mercury-safe extraction – luxury brands and electronics manufacturers remain complicit. The Fairmined and Alliance for Responsible Mining standards exist but cover a fraction of supply. Communities lack access to clean water alternatives, healthcare for mercury poisoning, or compensation. This story is urgent because it exposes the gap between corporate ESG commitments and the reality at the point of extraction.