Geochemist and Mining Consultant to Speak at College: Raising Public Awareness About the Hazards of Mercury as a Global Pollutant

Williamsburg, VA, September 24, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Marcello Veiga, internationally recognized metallurgist and geochemist will be presenting a lecture on Mercury and Artisanal Mining at the College of William & Mary. The lecture, hosted by the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies, is part of a series presented by the Mercury Global Inquiry Group (sGIG), an interdisciplinary study examining mercury as a global pollutant. Dr. Veiga will speak as a follow-up to the Mercury sGIG’s public screening of Choropampa: the Price of Gold, at the Williamsburg Public Library. The film documents the events surrounding the June 2, 2000, mercury spill in Choropampa, Peru, and the effects on its townspeople.

This film and lecture are free and open to the public.

What: CHOROPAMPA: The Price of Gold
Film Screening
When: Sunday, September 27, 2009, 2 PM
Where: Williamsburg Regional Library Theater, 515 Scotland Street

A devastating mercury spill by the world’s richest gold mining corporation transforms a quiet peasant village in the Peruvian Andes into a hotbed of civil resistance. A courageous young mayor emerges to lead his people on a quest for health care and justice, but powerful interests conspire to thwart the villagers at every turn in the two-year chronicle of the real price of gold.

What: Dr. Marcello Veiga, “Mercury and Artisanal Gold Mining”
Public Lecture / ENSP 250
When: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Where: 5 PM, Andrews Hall Room 101, College of William & Mary

Dr. Marcello Mariz de Veiga completed his Ph.D. in Mineral Process Engineering at the University of British Columbia, where he developed research in environmental risk assessment of mercury from gold mining operations. A dual-citizen of Brazil and Canada, Veiga’s research includes bioaccumulation and adverse health effects of metals in the environment and sustainable development in mining.

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