Steven Grattan at The Associated Press reports on the sharp criticism of the latest mercury summit for failing to take stronger action against mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. Read here: apnews.com/article/merc...

Read our report from the Minamata Convention on Mercury COP6: ipen.org/news/mercury... The ban on mercury in dental fillings is a positive step, but small-scale gold mining will remain the largest global contributor to mercury pollution without urgent action. #MercuryTreaty #MinamataCOP6

A hidden source of mercury pollution: the oil and gas industry. IPEN’s new briefing exposes how this fuels global mercury contamination and urges urgent action to stop it. 📘 Read more: ipen.org/documents/me... #Mercury #FossilFuels #ASGM #ToxicsFreeFuture

The Minamata Convention must be strengthened to end the world’s mercury crisis. IPEN’s brief outlines two amendments needed to protect health and the environment: • End the global mercury trade • Phase out mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) by 2032 ipen.org/documents/en...

A new IPEN study reveals alarming mercury levels among Indigenous women in Peru and Nicaragua in communities living near small-scale gold mining areas and relying on fish for food. ipen.org/documents/me... Mercury pollution from gold mining is a human rights and public health crisis.

Most mercury being traded today ends up in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. This contaminates rivers, fish, and communities worldwide. It’s time to end this toxic trade once and for all. Download IPEN’s Quick Views on the Mercury Treaty COP-6: ipen.org/documents/qu...

The Associated Press reported in October that the United Nations has warned of a “serious and ongoing human rights crisis” in Colombia’s Atrato River basin, where mercury from illegal gold mining has poisoned communities and ecosystems. apnews.com/article/un-c...

#Live now! Join this #MinamataCOP6 Knowledge Lab focusing on #HumanRights of groups in vulnerable situations, the health impacts of mercury, and strategies for prevention & guidance to strengthen health systems. ▶️ tiny.cc/COP6KnowledgeLab4Nov25 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQoR...

It's Day 2⃣ at #MinamataCOP6!   Participants gather for regional meetings, as delegates delve into discussions on key items:   🟡 #ASGM 🟡 Mercury waste 🟡 Programme of work and budget 🟡 National reporting 🟡 Effectiveness evaluation 🟡 & more   ▶️ tiny.cc/GENRoadtoMinam…

A Minamata Convention COP-6 Knowledge Lab is happening today, Tue, Nov. 4, from 18:00-18:45 CET. Health, Human Rights and Mercury Impacts of ASGM: Prioritising health interventions For those in Geneva it is in CICG, Room 3. It will also be online. www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/events/healt...

Mercury is used by miners in small-scale gold mining (ASGM) in a process called amalgamation. The ASGM sector is the primary source of mercury contamination globally, impacting millions of lives. IPEN POs developed ASGM reports on the situation in their countries: ipen.org/documents/me...

IPEN warns that the use of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) continues to be the leading global source of mercury pollution. Read our briefing about the global mercury trade: ipen.org/documents/gl...

As this latest IPEN study exposes, Indigenous women in Peru and Nicaragua that live where small-scale gold mining takes place have high levels of mercury in their bodies. Download the report here: ipen.org/documents/me...

IPEN and its participating organizations (POs) worldwide joined forces with local and global partners for the 2025 International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) from October 19-25. Read about what the organizations did around the world for ILPPW: ipen.org/projects/int...

The Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP-6) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury takes place Nov 3–7 in Geneva. IPEN’s Quick Views outline key decisions and call for bold action to end global mercury trade and phase out ASGM by 2032. Read and download: ipen.org/documents/qu...

California has sued three major plastic bag manufacturers for falsely marketing their products as recyclable, while reaching a $1.8 million settlement with four others. Valerie Volcovici explains in Reuters: www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

Carey Gillam reports in The New Lede that U.S. imports of paraquat, a pesticide linked to Parkinson’s disease, have surged, even as dozens of countries have banned it. www.thenewlede.org/2025/10/para...

Environmental Health News shares that new research in the Journal of Chromatography A shows recycling increases toxic chemical levels in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly used for food packaging: www.ehn.org/test-recycli...

Invest in our children’s health. Demand governments’ and industries’ commitment to eliminating lead in all paints. Their future is worth it. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Hazardous chemicals belong nowhere near children or homes. The Rotterdam Convention ensures safe decisions and keeps toxic imports in check. 🛡️ #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Global trade of lead chromates and lead paints continues. Stronger international controls can curb it. Countries with lead paint laws can report to the Rotterdam Convention to stop hazardous exports. 🌐 #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Many countries still lack legal restrictions on lead paint. We need laws with strong penalties to stop the manufacture and sale of toxic paints. 🏛️ Act now for safer communities! #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

The fossil fuels/petrochemical /plastic industry complex are allied against a meaningful Plastics Treaty, and in New York, they are lobbying to stop legislation that would reduce plastic packaging and pollution. View the report released by @beyondplastics.bsky.social: bit.ly/prria-lobbying

Lead is toxic to humans and harmful to the environment. Eliminating lead from all paints is not just good practice, it is good public policy. 🌱 #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Gembong Hanung in The Jakarta Post reports on how microplastics are floating in Jakarta's skies and waterways, posing risks to both the environment and its inhabitants: asianews.network/insidious-po...

Choose #LeadSafePaint! ✅ Support paint brands that have stopped adding lead to their products and safeguard children’s health. Every brushstroke can make a difference. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Lead exposure in children causes irreversible neurological & behavioral damage. The impacts ripple beyond families, affecting communities & societies at large. 🌍 Together, we can stop this preventable harm. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

IPEN is pleased to announce that Gohar Khojayan of Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment (AWHHE) has been elected Co-Chair, joining Yuyun Ismawati of Indonesia’s Nexus3 Foundation, as Pamela Miller of ACAT steps down after two impactful terms: ipen.org/news/ipen-ge...

Young children are mostly vulnerable to lead. They absorb up to 5x more lead than adults & often ingest lead-contaminated dust, soil, or paint chips by accident. 🧸 Lead-safe homes start with informed choices. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

There’s no safe level of lead exposure. High lead levels severely damage the brain & can cause death; low levels permanently affect children’s IQ. ⚠️ Let’s keep our homes, schools & communities safe from lead. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Lead in paint is a silent threat to children and women of child-bearing age. Its impacts are irreversible and lifelong, but preventable. 🖌️ Say no to toxic paints and protect the future of our children. #BanLeadPaint #ILPPW2025 #LeadSafePaint #NoSafeLeadLevel #ToxicsFree

Hair samples from six Indigenous communities in Peru and Nicaragua show high levels of mercury, demonstrating that mercury from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) contaminates the environment and threatens human health. See IPEN’s new study for more: ipen.org/documents/me....

Sean Mowbray reports in @mongabay.com that an IPEN and Arnika study found “alarming” levels of dioxins and brominated flame retardants in free-range eggs near dumpsites and e-waste facilities across five continents. Read here: news.mongabay.com/2025/10/alar...

#Live now! This #MinamataCOP6 online event will discuss how mercury exposure, including from #ASGM, impacts #IndigenousPeoples & identify ways to strengthen protection & participation in @minamataconvention.bsky.social processes. ▶ tiny.cc/GEN16Oct25 📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjAf...

Lea "Cómo la minería artesanal del oro crea 'grandes zonas de sacrificio por el mercuri' en América Latina", de Noor Mahtani, en El País. elpais.com/america-futu...

Sara Hashemi reports in Smithsonian Magazine that an IPEN study found 88% of women of childbearing age in Indigenous communities near small-scale gold mining sites in Peru and Nicaragua had mercury levels above the U.S. EPA’s safety threshold. Read here: www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...

Hair samples collected by Indigenous Peoples in Peru and Nicaragua, in communities near artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) operations, show high levels of mercury. See the new IPEN study calling for global policies to end mercury contamination: ipen.org/documents/me...

#Live now! Join @srtoxics.bsky.social, ASGM experts & #IndigenousPeoples representatives for a discussion on recommendations, latest findings, experiences & challenges in controlling the flow of mercury into ASGM in countries. @toxicsfree.bsky.social ▶ tiny.cc/GEN14Oct25 📺 youtu.be/hT2-odjCJ0w

Happening live now! Join us on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT2-...

Mercury exposure - especially from small-scale gold mining - threatens the health, rights, and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. On 16 October, join the Minamata COP-6 Online Event, “The Impacts of Mercury Exposure on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Ways to Address Them” tiny.cc/GEN16Oct25

This Tuesday, 14 October, join IPEN and @genevaenvironmentnetwork.org for the webinar, Strengthening the Minamata Convention: A New Approach to the Global Mercury Trade and Use in ASGM. RSVP here: bit.ly/14oct25d The webinar is 16:30-17:30 CEST. #MinamataCOP6 #MakeMercuryHistory #MinamataConvention

Read IPEN’s Press Release after the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Review Committee session: ipen.org/news/chemica... Brominated dioxins, chemicals released from burning plastic, remain unregulated despite strong evidence of the risks to human health

Watch @cnn.com reporters Bill Weir, Laura Paddison, and Jessie Yeung as they spend five days wearing a wristband that tracks toxic chemical exposure. edition.cnn.com/2025/10/08/c... Bjorn Beeler is interviewed to explain what the wristbands showed and how phthalates end up everywhere.

IPEN is hiring a Project Manager. It’s a full-time position, based in South East Asia. Learn more: ipen.org/documents/ip... The last day to apply is 21 October.

As we navigate a world impregnated by plastic, @cnn.com explores how many and which toxic chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis with help from our friends at @toxicsfree.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/10/08/c...

Join IPEN and @genevaenvironmentnetwork.org on Tuesday, 14 October, for the webinar, Strengthening the Minamata Convention: A New Approach to the Global Mercury Trade and Use in ASGM. RSVP here: bit.ly/14oct25d The webinar is 16:30-17:30 CEST. #MinamataCOP6 #MakeMercuryHistory #MinamataConvention

Three CNN reporters wore chemical-tracking wristbands provided by IPEN found exposure to an average of 28 toxic chemicals in just five days, including phthalates and bisphenols linked to cancer, fertility issues, and heart disease. Read and watch more: edition.cnn.com/2025/10/07/c...

ICYMI, EARTH for Thailand's shared the first successful class-action lawsuit against a corporate polluter in Thailand. Penchom Sae-Tang called it "a historic case concerning environmental harm.” www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/gen... These images are from 2023 when EARTH took some IPENers on a tour.

“Freshwater tidal marshes, critical for wildlife and coastal protection, are now serving as microplastic catch basins, according to a team of researchers at Penn State. They recently found that these marshes trap large amounts of diverse plastics...” Learn more in: phys.org/news/2025-09...

IPEN is hiring a Project Manager. It’s a full-time position, based in South East Asia. Learn more here: ipen.org/documents/ip... Last day to apply is 21 October.