Manado administration to question sole distributor of mercury material

The Manado mayoralty administration in North Sulawesi will summon the state-owned PT Dharma Niaga, the sole distributor of mercury product, following findings that the hazardous product had been sold in the open market for quite some time, the Manado Post reported Wednesday.

The paper quoted head of the local trade office Marihen as saying that Dharma Niaga has the responsibility to oversee the distribution of the mercury to ensure control in the use of the hazardous material.

Mercury has been massively used by illegal gold miners in North Sulawesi province and environmental experts have said that mercury causes damage to the environment and threatens the health of the people.(*)

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