…samples of 50 employees sent overseas for tests

MEDICATION necessary to treat mercury poisoning is expected to be in the country in a matter of days, Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) Newell Dennison has stated.

The commissioner told the Guyana Chronicle that the important medicine is being rushed from the United States and should be here in some 10 days, given the update provided by the agency’s designated health care provider. After tests were conducted, authorities within the gold and mines commission found that dozens of staffers had elevated levels of mercury poisoning within their blood systems. The commissioner said that additional testing of staff was then ordered to ensure all persons, especially those who may have had greater exposure to the chemical, were tested and treated.

“We have broadened our testing and have done so with a systematic approach,” the commissioner explained to this newspaper. He confirmed that so far, samples of some 50 employees have already been sent to labs overseas. The Guyana Chronicle has learnt however that the commission will order dozens of other staff who have not yet been tested to do so to ascertain their possible levels of contamination. The Guyana Chronicle was told that the systematic approach being taken by the agency will deal with those staffers considered to have been at greater risk. Those persons who might have faced serious exposure or whose cases are deemed most serious, will be tended to first as a “structured and organised” method is being used.

In some cases, staffers who were not directly involved with the use of mercury, were found with traces and high levels of contamination. It was noted that consideration is being given to relocating the current testing lab to a separate area, since mercury vapours would remain in office spaces and air conditioning units. While regular testing on various matters is said to be a norm of the mining commission, it was noted that the unusually high levels of mercury poisoning is a first. “We do testing on a regular [basis], and collect samples from staffers for different things, but never have we had a situation like this.”

Commissioner Dennison has indicated however that the commission will stand the costs of testing additional staffers and will also pay for their medical treatment, through the medicine that will arrive from the United States. A few weeks ago, agents of the mining commission had complained bitterly about feeling unwell and this prompted an investigation into the matter. It was then that authorities found “high and elevated” levels of mercury poisoning.

The effects of mercury poisoning include insomnia, mood swings, headaches, seizures and irritability, among others. The chemical is used to extract gold from ore and gold is among the country’s leading export earners. The resource had brought in almost $1B in revenue last year and sustains thousands of workers in that industry. Authorities have been encouraging the use of alternative methods of recovering the precious metal from contaminants.

URGENT STEPS
On Tuesday, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman announced that government will be taking urgent steps to remedy the situation, which could include temporary closure of the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) laboratory housed in the bottom flat of the GGMC compound. The laboratory is used to burn amalgam to rid the gold of mercury.

Mercury is mixed with gold, forming a mercury-gold amalgam, which is then heated, thereby vaporising the mercury to obtain the gold. This process can be very dangerous and leads to significant mercury exposure and health risks. Trotman told the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday that the situation is a serious one and steps will be taken to ensure that all workers operate in a safe environment. “I will be taking some urgent steps, including perhaps closing down the laboratory temporarily.

I know that there have been some external reviews, so I am confident and comfortable that those are okay,” he told the Guyana Chronicle. The minister said though he does not believe the situation is a life-threatening one, it must be treated seriously. “At my end, I am treating it very seriously and I do believe that it is indeed not life-threatening, but the fact that any employee could be in a position of jeopardy is of great concern to me,” said Trotman, who noted that “If there is anyone that needs treatment outside of Guyana, we are going to arrange that.”

“We don’t want to play around with the livelihood or lives of anyone,” he told the Guyana Chronicle. Concerns were initially raised by the GGMC staff who have been tested for high levels of mercury in their bodies. The results of the tests according to reports, indicate that the levels of mercury were high in some workers as opposed to others.

In a joint statement on Monday, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the GGB acknowledged that there was a problem with mercury emissions, but denied that the matter is at a crisis stage and that many of its staff are in danger. In fact, the joint statement said, the matter “is under control” as many measures have been taken to address the situation. “The GGMC and the GGB have collaborated in the past several weeks to enhance mercury-management activities at the Brickdam complex, so that there are no emissions of mercury during daily operations,” the statement said.

This, the two entities said, is in addition to the existing measures and part of the operational routines which had included regular testing of workers. Moreover, the GGMC said there has been a comprehensive inspection of the entire emissions control system; timely refurbishing of all areas and aspects of related systems; physical extension of emissions chimneys; satisfactory testing of work and resulting emissions. There have been arrangements for written assurances (warranties) as to work performed; the continuation of an aggressive maintenance schedule; the recruitment of external monitoring parties for safety certification purposes; and continuous monitoring to detect any suspicious levels of mercury emissions.