Mercury exposure widespread among Yanomami tribe in Amazon, report finds

FILE - A Brazil Environmental Agency helicopter flies over an illegal mining camp during an operation to try to contain it in Yanomami Indigenous territory, Roraima state, Brazil, Feb. 11, 2023. FILE - Aerial view of the Mucajai river, at the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, state of Roraima, Brazil, Jan. 28, 2023.

Many Yanomami, the Amazon's largest Indigenous tribe in relative isolation, have been contaminated with mercury coming from widespread illegal gold mining, according to a report released on Thursday by Brazil's top public health institute.