Scientists try to prove link between Amazon gold mining and disabilities in babies

Edinizia Karo Munduruku poses for a picture with her daughter Ewayne Yoto, during a mission by researchers from the Brazilian public health institute Fiocruz to investigate health disorders among Munduruku Indigenous people that are potentially linked to mercury contamination caused by illegal gold mining, in Sai Cinza village, in the municipality of Jacareacanga, Para state, Brazil February 20, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

SAI CINZA, Brazil (Reuters) -Deep in the Amazon, Indigenous women say they fear getting pregnant.

Rivers that have been the lifeblood of their people now carry mercury from illegal gold mining, threatening the health of their unborn children.