Peru’s Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Health jointly issued a monitoring report revealing severe basin-wide mercury contamination in the Nana River basin of the Amazon rainforest in Loreto Province. This pollution stems from long-term illegal discharge of mercury-containing wastewater from illegal gold mining operations. Illegal discharges persist, with downstream water mercury levels exceeding safety limits by up to 10 times. Fish exhibit severely elevated methylmercury concentrations, directly threatening the drinking water and food safety of over 600,000 residents along the riverbanks.
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