Working together, the community and the government, we are decontaminating water poisoned with mercury by installing a pad in fishermen’s boats that contains a special polymer that absorbs the mercury from the water in a safer way without releasing it while they fish.

After almost five years of polymer research and tests, we executed in the beginning of 2018 “Mercury Fishermen” with the Vice Minister of Environmental Policies to speak to the fishermen and community leaders about the benefits of installing a pad in their boats to absorb all the mercury that was affecting them. We gave pads to each fisherman, so they could return to the river.

The Atrato river is still under constant monitoring and the results are better in every measuring. Once the pads are full, the government will take the polymer off and eliminate the mercury in a safe and regulated process, replacing the pads for new ones and keep going until the Atrato river becomes clean again.

“Mercury Fishermen” is still in an expansion phase.

Each boat is cleaning 300.000 cubic meters per month, enough to fill 120 Olympic pools per month. We raised the problem to the whole media in the country, having to the current date 15.000.000 impressions and a reach of 22.000.000 people. The cleaning process it’s still going, and it will last until illegal mining in the zone ends, making mercury poisoning a long-term government agenda topic.