Next month 140 countries will sign the U.N. Minamata Convention, which aims to regulate the use of mercury to reduce rates of contamination in countries where small-scale gold miners operate. <br /><br />The convention is named after the world's biggest mass mercury poisoning, which occurred 60 years ago in Japan. <br /><br />The cause of the poisoning was identified only 30 years later as a local plastics factory that was dumping mercury into a nearby bay.<br /><br />Mercury is a neurotoxin that affects the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls movement. It also harms the kidneys and other organs. <br /><br />Hand tremors, coordination problems and headaches are among the early symptoms of mercury intoxication, which can also cause birth defects. — Reuters
