Site Name: Kalimantan, Indonesia

Pollutant: Primarily mercury, cadmium

Population Affected: 225,000+

Site Description:

Central and South Kalimantan are two of five provinces in Kalimantan, Indonesia. UNIDO estimates that mercury amalgamation from gold mining common in the area results in the release of an estimated 1,000 tons of mercury per year, which constitutes about 30 percent of the world’s anthropogenic mercury emissions. In South Kalimantan, numerous bodies of water such as the Tabalong, Martapura, and Barito Rivers are heavily polluted by mercury from mining activities. Surrounding populations are thus being exposed to unsafe levels of mercury from water used for bathing, washing, and irrigation.