15 Aug 2009

GUYANA / MERCURY POISONING

As the demand for gold grows in Guyana, so too do its dangers to miners and the environment from the mercury used in the process. To minimize the risks of mercury poisoning, the government of Guyana enacts new laws to protect its people and the environment. UNTV / VIDEOMEGA PRODUCTIONS

Posted at: August 15, 2009 12:01 am

Duration: 07:14

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: GUYANA / MERCURY POISONING
TRT: 7.14
SOURCE: 21ST CENTURY / VIDEOMEGA PRODUCTIONS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLESE / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: APRIL 2009, GUYANA

SHOTLIST:

APRIL 2009, GUYANA

1. Various shots, gold melting pot
2. Various shots, ingot production

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE / VIDEOMEGA PRODUCTIONS

3. Wide shot, waterfall

APRIL 2009, GUYANA

4. Wide shot, miners
5. Various shots, man swirling dirty water in plate
6. Various shots, gold site
7. Various shots, Charles at his home entrance
8. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"Nobody there really knew what was causing me to be down.  Sometimes, I'll feel good today, tomorrow I'll feel bad."
9. Pan right, from kitchen to Charles sitting in his livingroom
10. Various shots, Charles shaking hands
11. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"They advised me to go to Georgetown and see if they could find anything.  I had to wait for two weeks."
12. Med shot, nurse in clinic setting
13. Various shots, medical diagnosis papers
14. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"The gold work.  I never took precautions."
15. Various shots, handling mercury
16. Various shots, burning with fire gun
17. Various shots, children
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr, Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana:
"Mercury has been used in our country for a long time."
19. Wide shot, exterior Ministry of Health
20. Wide shot, Ramsammy entering his office
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr, Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana:
"I am certain that it has led to various neurological and other chronic conditions."
22. Various shots, sand work site
23. Various shots, men at work
24. Wide shot, Brenda Koekkoek entering her office
25. Various shots, Brenda 
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Brenda Koekkoek, Environmental Engineer, Programme Officer, UN Environment Programme (UNEP):
"The treaty is set to reduce international trade in mercury and to reduce emissions of mercury.  So banning mercury is a strong term but certainly many governments have already taken measures in this direction, like the US and the EU."
27. Wide shot, people in conference room
28. Med shot, Guyana Geology & Mines Commission sign
29. Med shot, man putting on gloves
30. Med shot, mining machine in water
31. Close up, mining officer
32. Various shots, Ronald Remy
33. Various shots, Georgetown
33. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Ronald Remy, Miner:
"I have been using mercury from 1960 until now.  I never had any effects from it. If mercury was something against people's health, three-quarters of these people would have been dead by now. "
34. Med shot, Ronald Remy walking
35. Wide shot, Ronald Remy walking thrrugh forest
36. Wide shot, man carrying log
37. Wide shot, Ronald in forest
38. Various shots, Ronald and other miners
39. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Ronald Remy, Miner:
"Every day they are putting pressure on small-scale miners. There is nothing to do in Mahdia but mining.  If they put pressure on us and the small-scale miners cannot work, what are we going to do?"
40. Wide shot, logging

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE / VIDEOMEGA PRODUCTIONS

41. Wide shot, truck spraying chemicals

APRIL 2009, GUYANA

42. Med shot, Noel Ramkarran in a boat
43. Zoom in, burning mercury
44. SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"Before we used to put the gold into the pan and burn it with the mercury.  That was not healthy. "
45. Pan left, from woman standing by water to forest
46. Wide shot, woman fishing
47. SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"When we release these things into the environment, it gets into the food chain and people who never worked with it are getting exposed."
48. Various shots, cooking fish
49. Close up, retort (metal container)
50. Various shots, mercury settling
51. Various shots, water poured on hot steel
52. SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"More people are taking precautions. But in spite of the regulation, in spite of education and awareness there are still too many people exposing themselves to the dangers of mercury."
53. Various shots, Ronald Remy on site
54. Wide shot, Charles Daniels walking with another  man
55. Various shots, Charles walking to his house
56. SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, Miner:
"Today I can't do anything.  I just sit and walk, but not too much walking because of my illness."
57. Various shots, Charles  home

STORYLINE

Gold.  At 1,064 degrees centigrade, it's a liquid poured and formed into bars of precious metal.

Under this intense heat, the molten gold separates from the denser impurities, leaving an ingot of pure, solid gold.  At current prices, this ingot goes for 350 thousand US dollars.
 
Here in the sizzling and sweltering heat of the rainforest, men in the Caribbean country of Guyana gamble everything searching for bits of gold.

They're looking to share in the more than 200 million US dollars that Guyana took in as revenue from gold last year.

Despite its value, this kind of work is bringing huge risks to miners and the environment.

Charles Daniels was hit hard by it.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"Nobody there really knew what was causing me to be down.  Sometimes, I'll feel good today, tomorrow I'll feel bad."

Charles started prospecting for gold when he was just a teenager.

About four years ago, Charles noticed his hands began to tremble softly.  He thought it was nothing but over time the shaking became worse and got to the point where he could no longer even hold a hammer.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"They advised me to go to Georgetown and see if they could find anything.  I had to wait for two weeks."

The diagnosis, mercury poisoning.  Charles blames one thing for his illness.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, miner:
"The gold work.  I never took precautions."

Mercury is used to separate gold flakes from silt during the mining process.  It can be a fast and effective tool, but if handled carelessly it can be poisonous.

Breathing in mercury vapours causes dizziness and damages the nervous system.

But it's especially hazardous for infants and pregnant women, and can lead to birth defects.

Exposure over a long time could cause death.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr, Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana:
"Mercury has been used in our country for a long time."

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Guyana's Minister of Health.

SOUNDBITE (English) Dr, Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana:
"I am certain that it has led to various neurological and other chronic conditions."

Guyana isn't the only country grappling with the dangers of mercury. According to a UN report, an estimated 100 million people may be facing health problems from mercury use in mining.

Brenda Koekkoek is Environmental Engineer and Programme Officer with the UN Environment Programme, UNEP.  She says UNEP's Governing Council is seeking a global agreement to monitor the use of mercury.

SOUNDBITE (English) Brenda Koekkoek, Environmental Engineer, Programme Officer, UN Environment Programme (UNEP):
"The treaty is set to reduce international trade in mercury and to reduce emissions of mercury.  So banning mercury is a strong term but certainly many governments have already taken measures in this direction, like the US and the EU."

To minimize the risks of mercury to its people and the environment, the Government of Guyana enacted new laws – the Mining (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

Now miners are required to use gloves and masks when handling mercury.

Mining officers visit sites every three months.

If caught committing violations, miners are slapped with steep fines and loss of livelihood.

But some miners don't believe that mercury is harmful.  Ronald Remy is one of them.  He has been mining for more than 40 years in Mahdia, a mining town just 300 kilometres from Guyana's capital, Georgetown.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Ronald Remy, Miner:
"I have been using mercury from 1960 until now.  I never had any effects from it. If mercury was something against people's health, three-quarters of these people would have been dead by now. "

Although the new safeguards will protect miners like Remy from getting sick, he opposes the new measures saying it will put him out of a job.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Ronald Remy, Miner:
"Every day they are putting pressure on small-scale miners. There is nothing to do in Mahdia but mining.  If they put pressure on us and the small-scale miners cannot work, what are we going to do?"

For years, miners in Guyana operated without any respect for human health or the environment says Noel Ramkarran, General Manager of Sahadeo Mining Company.

SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"Before we used to put the gold into the pan and burn it with the mercury.  That was not healthy. "

The open burning accelerates the release of high levels of mercury vapour into the atmosphere far beyond the boundaries of the mines.  It escaped into ground water, polluting waterways and contaminating fish.

SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"When we release these things into the environment, it gets into the food chain and people who never worked with it are getting exposed."

But now that's changing.  As part of the new rules, gold amalgam is now sealed in a retort, or metal container, and heated with a blowtorch to evaporate the mercury, leaving only gold.

The mercury vapour is diverted into a bowl of water, where it can't escape, and settles to the bottom where it returns to its original liquid state.

SOUNDBITE (English) Noel Ramkarran, General Manager, Sahadeo Mining Company:
"More people are taking precautions. But in spite of the regulation, in spite of education and awareness there are still too many people exposing themselves to the dangers of mercury."

And miners like Remy will have to abide by the new regulations but for Charles, whose condition has become so debilitating that he can no longer fend for himself, it's too late.

SOUNDBITE (Creolese) Charles Daniels, Miner:
"Today I can't do anything.  I just sit and walk, but not too much walking because of my illness."

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