World News for Students of English

04-11-2025 15:00

Illegal gold mining in the Amazon is causing a serious health crisis. Miners use mercury to extract gold, but the chemical contaminates rivers and the food chain.

Fish accumulate mercury, which Indigenous communities consume daily. Pregnant women absorb mercury, which can pass to their babies via the placenta or breast milk, leading to severe neurological disorders. Children in some villages cannot lift their heads, experience muscle spasms, or have delayed development. Brazilian scientists are conducting a multi-year study of 176 mothers and their infants. Preliminary findings show that mercury levels in mothers are five times above safe limits, and in babies, three times above. Establishing a direct causal link is difficult because other factors, like genetics or infections, could contribute to disorders.

Mercury is persistent in the environment, remaining for decades even if mining stops. The communities face a moral and survival dilemma: obey health warnings or continue eating contaminated fish to avoid starvation. Researchers hope the study will influence policies to protect Indigenous people and reduce environmental contamination.

Difficult words: accumulate (to gather or collect over time), placenta (an organ in pregnant women that gives food and oxygen from mother to baby), spasm (a sudden, uncontrolled movement of a muscle), persistent (lasting for a long time), dilemma (a hard choice between two bad options).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.