According to site G1, a study by researchers at the Unicamp Chemistry Institute (IQ) in the city of Campinas, São Paulo, "identified that burning in the Amazon rainforest, in addition to impacts on climate and biodiversity, is responsible for release 4 to 8 tonnes of mercury per year, a highly toxic element".
Therefore, the study revealed that, in addition to the terrible destruction of the Amazon biome, the burning in the region causes high emissions of mercury in the atmosphere, a highly toxic element to living beings.
According to Professor and researcher Anne Hélène Fostier, since the substance can wander for up to a year until it is deposited anywhere on the planet. Therefore, the impact of the fires on the Amazon Rainforest will be global.
Anne Hélène Fostier, who is an oceanographer, warns that once released into the atmosphere, mercury can go into the soil or water bodies. In rivers, lakes, and oceans the harmful element goes through a process of methylation, which makes it even more toxic.
The research explains that this process generates methylation, which in turn happens in the environment by biological means and transforms inorganic mercury into organic, especially methylmercury, one of the most toxic forms of this element.
According to Fostier, "when methylmercury is incorporated into the food chain, the risks of intoxication are very high. It is a threat, especially to riparian populations, who find their main protein source in fish."
