Abstract
Abstract
In 1987, large-scale open pit mountaintop gold mining was initiated in the outskirts of the Paracatu town, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The mine hard rocks contain low-grade gold ore (average 0.4 g gold/ton ore) and abnormally high amounts of arsenopyrite (FeAsS; average 1000 g/ton ore). Since 2005, the mine has been operated solely by Canadian Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC-NYSE, K-TSX) through its local subsidiary. The poorly controlled mining activities release FeAsS and its weathering products from the rocks as particulate matter, gas, and solutes that contaminate the air, soils, surface water and ground water. As of 2016, the cumulative inorganic arsenic throughput of the mine was estimated at 735,000 ton. In this article, we present the first series of sentinel cases of chronic arsenic intoxication (CAsI) in Paracatu. Despite mounting evidence for wanton widespread environmental degradation, large-scale environmental contamination, chronic mass intoxication, and persistent human rights abuse, a number of public and private lawsuits failed to halt Kinross' activities in Paracatu. The ongoing environmental and humanitarian disaster and unlawful abuses in Paracatu that degrade the environment and victimize thousands of people have prospered unchallenged and cannot be stopped locally due to officials' collusion with large economic interests, powerful political interferences, facilitation payments, willful blindness, and toxicological greenwashing.
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