The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has cautioned residents of illegal mining areas, particularly those in rural communities to desist from the dangerous practice of boiling and drinking water from sources polluted by galamsey.
According to the Authority, the polluted water sources could contain poisonous sediments and toxic substances, including mercury, cyanide and arsenic and boiling could not purify it.
“The notion that boiled galamsey-contaminated water is safe for drinking and other domestic activities is false. While boiling kills bacteria, it does not remove harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide,” the Authority said.
Mr David Agyekum Baidoo, an official with the EPA Office in Twifo Praso, who gave the advice, said many villages and hamlets in galamsey communities lacked access to pipe-borne water, and so relied on polluted streams and rivers for their daily needs, thereby unknowingly putting their health and lives at serious risk.
He told the Ghana News Agency that drinking, bathing or irrigating crops and livestock faced serious dangers, as mercury, cyanide and other mining chemicals could cause kidney damage, neurological harm and birth defects.
Socially, he explained that illegal mining destroyed farmlands and forests, polluted rivers and soil, undermined agriculture and livelihoods, thereby threatening national food security.
Mr Baidoo denounced the misconception that the EPA was opposed to mining, rather it keenly supported lawful mining and was ready to assist prospective miners to obtain the necessary permits within its purview to operate in an environmentally responsible manner.
He expressed the Authority’s commitment to sustaining environmental stewardship by assessing mining projects, issuing environmental permits, monitoring compliance and enforcing standards to ensure that mining was conducted legally and sustainably.
He, therefore, urged affected communities to seek treated water or other safe alternative sources rather than assume boiling river water, unfit for consumption.
Mr Baidoo also rallied the communities to support the fight against illegal mining and report illegal miners to the security agencies, stressing that prompt reporting was essential to stop further pollution of rivers, protect public health and preserve water sources for drinking, farming and fishing.
Source: GNA
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