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Report sent to CIDH indicates that mercury contamination in fish is advancing in six Amazonian states, affecting indigenous peoples, riverside communities, women, and children, and exposes failures in the control of illegal mining in the country
Contamination by mercury in fish sold in six Amazonian states reached 21.3% above the World Health Organization limit, according to a diagnosis sent by the Federal Public Ministry to the CIDH, affecting more vulnerable groups.
Mercury in fish reveals sanitary emergency
The material was submitted to the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights and describes a situation classified as a systemic sanitary emergency in the Brazilian Amazon.
The contamination appears linked to the advance of illegal mining and points to structural failures of the Brazilian State in controlling this activity.
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The data shows more serious situations in Amazonas and Roraima. The presence of mercury can reach up to 50% of the fish analyzed in Amazonas and 40% in Roraima.
States and municipalities concentrate highest indices
Contamination occurs unevenly, with greater intensity in specific areas and groups more exposed to local fish.
In Amazonas, Santa Isabel do Rio Negro and São Gabriel da Cachoeira registered indices of up to 50% of contaminated fish. In Acre, the percentage reached 35.9%.
The severity increases among indigenous peoples. In the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, studies identified mercury contamination in all analyzed participants, with samples at elevated levels.
Women and children face greater risk
Women of childbearing age consume up to nine times more mercury than recommended. Young children ingest up to 31 times above the limit considered safe.
These groups appear among those most affected by the risks of neurological damage and developmental impairment.
The presence of mercury in fish increases food risk in communities that depend on rivers for protein.
Bioaccumulation increases threat in the food chain
Bioaccumulation increases mercury concentration along the food chain. Carnivorous fish show levels up to 14 times higher than herbivorous species.
In riverside communities of the Madeira River, analyses showed contamination in 85% of human hair samples. The metal also appeared in water and locally grown foods.
Models show intensification of pollution along rivers, especially in areas close to mining. The expansion of cyanide use increases the environmental and sanitary impacts of illegal mining.
Smuggling supplies illegal mining
Brazil does not produce mercury. All material used in illegal mining enters the country through smuggling, mainly from Bolivia and Guyana.
Between 2018 and 2022, about 185 tons of unknown origin were consumed. The clandestine flow sustains illegal activities and hinders control over the metal’s origin.
The investigation points to schemes for laundering illegally extracted minerals, inserted into the formal market with fraudulent documentation and low traceability of the resources involved.
Institutional failures hinder inspection
The failures involve bodies such as the National Mining Agency and the Central Bank, especially in monitoring the origin of resources linked to the mineral chain.
In the legal field, there is a conflict between the Minamata Convention, ratified by Brazil, and old norms that still allow the use of mercury in the country.
This overlap hinders inspection actions conducted by bodies such as Ibama, while illegal mining maintains pressure on protected territories in the Amazon.
Mining migrates even after operations
Recent operations significantly reduced mining in areas such as the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, but the activity migrated to other regions and maintained environmental pressure.
On the Madeira River, new vessels appeared shortly after repression actions, showing rapid recomposition of illegal structures and adaptation of criminal networks.
The scenario advances alongside discussions in the Federal Supreme Court on the regulation of mining on indigenous lands. For the MPF, institutional fragility increases environmental and health risks in the Amazon.
With information from Tempo.
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