File photo of an illegal mining site in Ghana
Toxicologist Yakubu Adam has warned that illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, is putting Ghanaians’ health at serious risk due to the use of mercury in the gold extraction process.
Speaking on TV and monitored by GhanaWeb on Saturday, October 4, 2025, Adam explained that mercury contamination from mining operations seeps into water and soil, eventually entering the food chain and posing long-term health hazards.
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“The only way to prevent exposure is to stop this illegal mining. The mercury used in these processes contaminates our environment, and we are just protecting ourselves when we speak against it,” he said.
Adam cited historical cases in Minamata, Japan, in the 1960s, where mercury pollution from industrial waste led to neurological disorders, kidney problems, mental health issues, and even deaths among local residents.
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“What happened in Minamata should serve as a warning to our country,” he stressed.
Despite ongoing advocacy against illegal mining, Adam noted that Ghana has taken little concrete action.
“We know how to stop this, yet we seem to be pretending. We are always talking around the bush, focusing on treatment rather than addressing the root causes of diseases caused by this exposure,” he said.
Yakubu Adam pointed the lasting impact of mercury contamination, explaining that once it enters soil or water, it can remain for centuries.
“The scary part is how long it persists, once it gets into food, soil, or water, it’s there forever up to 880 years.
“We cannot continue to ignore this calamity. The time to act is now,” he added.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has said that he will only declare a state of emergency over the fight galamsey if the National Security Council advises him to do so.
In an engagement with civil society organisations in Accra on Friday, October 3, 2025, he stated, “The president acts on the advice of the National Security Council. The National Security Council believes we can win the fight without a state of emergency. The day they advise me otherwise, I will not hesitate in declaring,”
JKB/EB
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