Seminar Series: Transdisciplinary Research to Address Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining
Channel: Engineering for Change
Date: 05/08/2021

AUGUST 4, 2021, 12 PM ET
Mercury is used in artisanal mining to extract gold from ore, but when improperly handled, it is a pollutant that can compromise human health, ecosystems and the cultural heritage of local communities around the world. 

In partnership with Conservation X Labs, and as part of our commitment to preparing the future generations of technical professionals to design and deliver solutions that achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Engineering for Change is supporting the dissemination and awareness of The Artisanal Mining Grand Challenge: The Amazon. The challenge offers a unique opportunity to students, entrepreneurs, engineers, designers and others to address critical issues in small-scale mining in the Amazon.

In this Seminar, researchers Irene Velez-Torres, Diana Vanegas and Luis E. Fernandez will describe their work among gold mining communities in Latin America. They will outline their collaborative research process, and speak to the scientific, social and political challenges they face in addressing mercury contamination.