Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Inderjit Ramdass said tests carried out in the village of Isseneru last December showed that mercury levels in its surface water were above United States’ EPA recommended limits.
Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud said this and other findings led to the issuance of cease-work orders to errant miners in the area and plans are in the pipeline to execute a more comprehensive study into the effects of mining in the Region 7 community.
Persaud and Ramdass gave these explanations to the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources on Monday morning. Ramdass told committee members, including A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) MPs Joseph Harmon, Rupert Roopnaraine and Vanessa Kissoon and People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) MPs Neil Kumar and Odinga Lumumba that the EPA collaborated with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to carry out an investigation into mercury