Prenatal Exposure to Lead Linked to Lower Birth Weights, Earlier Births in Gold Mining Communities

A new study on the impacts of prenatal exposure to toxic metals linked to artisanal gold mining and other sources in Madre de Dios, Peru, finds that mercury has no direct effect on a newborn’s birth weight or gestational age. It’s a different story, though, for lead, which may also be released by mining operations but more likely is consumed when people eat wild game that inadvertently still contains small bullet fragments.  

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