PANORAMA: Artisanal mining and its contribution to Lake Victoria pollution
A recent study examining Lake Victoria's water quality and degradation by researchers from Texas Southern University in the US and Uganda’s Makerere University revealed that the lake has been heavily polluted with high traces of three dangerous minerals -- lead, arsenic aluminium and phosphorus -- which are not good for humans to consume in certain quantities. It has now come to light that gold mining activities on the islands of Sigulu and on the shores of Lake Victoria could cause more pollution of the lake and threaten aquaculture as mercury, which is used in the extraction of gold, seeps through the soils and may find its way into the lake.
