Amazonian Tribes Are Being Poisoned By Illegal Miners

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Indigenous communities across the Amazon are facing the threat of mercury poisoning. Filipe Frazao/Shutterstock

Some of the world’s most vulnerable communities are currently experiencing high rates of mercury poisoning as a result of the activities of illegal miners. A recent study (in Portuguese) involving 19 communities of indigenous Yanomami and Yekuana people in the Brazilian Amazon revealed that 90 percent have been severely affected by mercury poisoning.