By | Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — When the National Assembly reconvenes from its parliamentary recess, the joint parliamentary opposition will demand a comprehensive, independent environmental and public health assessment of the Barama River in Region One (Barima-Waini) to evaluate dangerous levels of mercury poisoning and heavy metal sediment contamination caused by surrounding mining operations.
The commitment was announced by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan following an on-site fact-finding mission to the Carib community of Chinese Landing / Tassawini, which remains locked in a high-stakes territorial standoff against external mining equipment.
Parliamentary Intervention and Regulatory Accountability
Speaking to HGP Nightly News, MP Duncan stressed that the contamination of the Barama River poses an immediate existential threat to the indigenous population, noting that residents are living in constant fear of consuming local fish—their primary protein source:
Independent Testing Mandate: Duncan called for an uncompromised assessment of the river system, including water column samples and riverbed sediment testing, conducted alongside independent international environmental toxicologists and the Chinese Landing Village Council.
Role of Natural Resources Committee: He stated that the Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources must urgently convene hearings and mandate full public disclosure of all findings.
Production of Regulatory Records: State oversight bodies—including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), and the Ministry of Natural Resources—must be compelled by Parliament to produce all mining permits, environmental impact assessments (EIAs), water quality baseline records, and field monitoring logs.
“Parliament must have an independent and environmental assessment of the Barama River and an assessment of the area as well—sediments and water for possible mercury exposure,” MP Duncan asserted. “The results should be made public. The Village Council should participate while having independent experts as well… The Parliamentary Sectoral Committee must urgently examine this issue. The responsible ministries, ministers, the EPA, and the GGMC should be required to produce all permits, environmental assessments, and monitoring reports.”
Severe Health Impacts: Mercury in Children and Elders
Reinforcing the severity of the crisis, Chinese Landing Toshao Nikita Miller revealed that the health impacts of mercury exposure are already documented among residents, particularly during dry weather spells when river water levels drop and households have no alternative water sources:
Shocking Test Results: Toshao Miller recalled a comprehensive 2023 fact-finding mission where biochemical samples were collected across the village, revealing alarming levels of mercury bioaccumulation in the urine of both young children and village elders.
Submission to the IACHR: The toxicological findings formed part of the substantive evidence dossier submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which subsequently issued precautionary measures requesting the state to protect the community.
Upstream Dredge Incursions: Miller pointed out that heavy river dredges (“daggers”) operating in close proximity to the village exacerbate turbidity and contaminate aquatic life, creating widespread exposure.
“They found children and elders with mercury in their urine, and this report was sent to the IACHR,” Toshao Miller stated. “There is two daggers operating very close to Chinese Landing… When the water is low, the water turbidity is very high and the mercury poisoning is severe.”
Toshao Miller also recalled confronting visiting government officials who refused to consume fish caught from the Barama River while touring the community:
“I told him: ‘You come here for one day and don’t want to eat the fish, and me that living here for years gotta eat it every day?'”http://MP DUNCAN CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT OF…… https://youtu.be/8v7pv30VBEI
