Funai vetoes research on mercury contamination among Yanomami

Researchers at Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation), an institution linked to the Ministry of Health, were prohibited by Funai (National Indigenous Foundation), also a federal government agency, from carrying out a study on the impact of illegal mining within Yanomami indigenous land.

The focus of the research would be mercury contamination through the collection of hair samples from indigenous people and fish in the region of the Mucajaí River, in Roraima. The presence of illegal mining there is so strong that, at the beginning of the year, the course of the river was completely diverted by a few dozen meters so that the miners could explore its natural bed.

By justifying the ban on Fiocruz, Funai claimed compliance with ordinance 419, of March 17, 2020, which suspends new authorizations to enter indigenous lands, although “except for those necessary for the continuity of the provision of essential services to the communities”.

“From March of the year to date, it has been over a year and a half. In the meantime, Funai, in addition to not preventing miners, loggers and all other types of invasions in the territory, has not taken any action. Vaccination coverage was growing within the indigenous land, and all our researchers have already received at least two doses”, says doctor Paulo Cesar Basta, researcher in public health at Fiocruz and coordinator of the project.

The Yanomami face a serious health crisis, with the proliferation of cases of child malnutrition and malaria. Indigenous leaders attribute the calamity to the presence of around 20,000 illegal miners, stimulated by President Jair Bolsonaro’s repeated promises to legalize the activity.

This year, Bolsonaro has already been in two indigenous lands neighboring the Yanomami: Balaio (AM) and Raposa Serra do Sol (RR). In addition, he slept in an army platoon located within the Yanomami community of Maturacá. In all these places, he interacted with indigenous people without wearing a mask.

The research project was prepared after a request to Fiocruz from the Texoli association, formed by the ninam people, a subgroup of the Yanomami who inhabit the Mucajaí.

“There are many miners working on our Mucajaí River and its tributaries, causing environmental and social disaster. We think that our people are being poisoned with the mercury used by miners,” says Texoli, in a letter sent to Fiocruz in October.

The team would consist of 16 researchers, including 8 physicians, in addition to biologists and other professionals. Before requesting the request to Funai, the Fiocruz project obtained all other necessary authorizations, including the opinion of Conep (National Commission for Research Ethics).

Basta, who has been researching indigenous health for about 20 years, claims that the project would adopt the same protocols as the study carried out in 2019 in Munduruku communities in Pará, another area with heavy illegal gold mining.

The survey, carried out in the Middle Tapajós region, showed that 60% of the participants had mercury levels above the maximum safety limit. Furthermore, about 16% of Munduruku children had neurodevelopmental problems.

The article sent questions to Funai about the prohibition of the Fiocruz study and the presence of Bolsonaro in indigenous lands, but was not answered until the conclusion of this text.