Parents in Talensi in the Upper East Region have been cautioned to ensure their children return to school or risk the wrath of their Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).

MCE of the Talensi District, Edward Awonure is alarmed at the increasing number of children bailing out of school to engage in mining activities and is warning parents there who have refused to send their children to school to desist from such acts.

The MCE explained that a taskforce has been formed and is actively searching for truants, especially those participating in small-scale mining.

The children, in their activities, expose themselves to mercury; a heavy metal which has been documented to cause severe neurological defects ranging from loss of motor control, paralysis, permanent body contortions and eventually, death.

Mr. Awonure stressed that parents of children discovered engaging in small scale mining will be held accountable for their children’s truancy and made to face the full arm of the law.

His warning comes after a MultiTv report (video below) revealed that several children in the Gbane community have resorted to mining instead of attending classes.

Listen to the MCE Below:

The Head of Clinical Pathology at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Regina Appiah Oppong expressed her dismay at the thought of children handling such a dangerous metal.

Dr. Appiah Oppong explained that the metal when ingested, can bind to the bones and can actively destroy internal organs.

She revealed that mercury, if ingested at just 20nanogram per millilitre requires medical treatment and that levels exceeding a hundred nanogram per millilitre will show immediate signs and can result in death.