…MNR reiterates that there has been no official report on the matter

A SENIOR functionary of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has confirmed the deaths of four staff members but has urged that the public await official reports before arriving at conclusions.

Since February, four persons, Mr. Dwayne De Jonge, a ranger; Mr. Latchman Chiti, a surveyor; Mr. Leroy Green, a carpenter and Mr. Clement Proffit, a lab technician, succumbed to illnesses.

It is being speculated that the illness is linked to mercury poisoning, but the GGMC has cautioned against hasty conclusions, although saying that it could be assumed that the illnesses from which the persons reportedly died are all consistent with mercury contamination and the effects it has on one’s organs.

An observer close to the GGMC said that while it is the Guyana Gold Board whose laboratory is located inside the GGMC Upper Brickdam compound, none of the Gold Board’s staff seems seriously affected. “These are all GGMC people and most of them work in the fields…” the source said.

Meanwhile, the People Progressive Party PPP in a statement on Friday expressed concern at the deaths of the four GGMC staffers. “The deaths of these staffers, who were documented to have been affected by mercury poisoning, makes it clear that every effort must be made to ensure that working conditions are safe,” said the PPP statement.

Noting that the issue was not a political one, the PPP said it will support the Government of Guyana “to ensure that every effort is made to guarantee the health and safety of our people.” The party called for immediate action by the relevant authorities, including the management of the GGMC and the Ministry of Public Health, “to ensure the occupational health and safety standards are in place and the welfare of all staff and citizens are protected.”

In a response following our inquiries, the Ministry of Natural Resources in a press release said, along with other government agencies, it is already responding to the mercury situation and that no effort or expense would be spared to protect workers.
According to the release, the government has been “working assiduously” with, and through several ministries and agencies including, the EPA and Ministry of Social Protection, “to ensure that the current issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the workers.”

“The Ministry of Natural Resources… wishes to place on record that no official or formal report of this matter has been received about these deaths being mercury related. The Ministry of Natural Resources will await a report to this effect from the GGMC and will again engage the workers about any grievances that may exist,” the statement said.

The Ministry noted that “there is simply no existing empirical data which establishes that mercury is responsible for the deaths of miners and GGMC workers in recent times. However, efforts are already in train to scientifically establish whether there is such a link.”
The release said that the GGMC is a decades old institution and that the use of mercury has been ongoing for decades in mining. “Miners and workers of the GGMC and the Guyana Gold Board (GGB) have for many years been exposed to mercury at various levels, and times both in the hinterland and in the city because of its widespread use in the amalgamation of gold,” it said.

In April, the Guyana Gold Board ceased burning gold at its Brickdam laboratory. Plans are said to be in train to relocate not only the laboratory but the entire GGB operations to a suitable location.