Livan said though GGMC will be the main benficiary of the project, the commission is aware of the needs of the miners and they will be addressed, too, in the workshops. Mercury is a metal which is extremely toxic in small quantities. It also builds up in the ecosystem and is difficult to clean up. Recently, people living in some Brazilian villages have been stricken by a debilitating disease caused by mercury poisoning. Named the Minimata disease, the illness attacks the immune system and causes deformities in children.
Victims suffer from uncontrollable shaking and muscle wasting.
It was found that the villagers consumed the mercury in fish.