Gold mining releases more mercury than all mercury mining and disposal combined.
Asia is number one in the world in per-capita consumption of gold and platinum.
Illegal gold-mining camps in Ghana provide impoverished locals with a means to earn some much-needed cash -- but at a high environmental price. The mercury that small-scale miners use to purify gold not only threatens the miners' own health but also the health of whole communities, as mercury concentrations build up in waterways and fish.