Mercury: Time to Act

Edited by  United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
42 Pages, UNEP, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics Chemicals Branch, 2013

This report speaks directly to governments involved in the development of the global treaty on mercury. It presents updates from the UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 in short and punchy facts and figures backed by compelling graphics, that provide governments and civil society with the rationale and the imperative to act on this notorious pollutant.

The report underlines the fact that mercury remains a major global, regional and national challenge in terms of threats to human health and the environment, especially but not uniquely to the health of pregnant woman and babies world-wide through the eating of contaminated fish for example or to marine mammals in places like the Arctic.

It also underlines that the burden of disease in many ways is shifting towards developing countries such as those in areas of the world where a growing burning of coal is increasing emissions of mercury to the atmosphere.

Small-scale gold mining is also aggravating the threat, in part fueled by increased extraction using mercury to meet rising demands as a result of a high global gold price. In the mid 2000’s that price was around $420 an ounce whereas today it stands at around $1,700 an ounce.

The challenge towards addressing mercury emissions is the wide variety of sources of emissions, from industrial processes to products in day-to-day use.

Indeed often unknown to many, mercury is found in electrical switches and thermostats, lamps, measuring devices and dental amalgam fillings. Mercury as a compound is used in products such as batteries, paints, soaps and creams.

In addition, mercury releases from artisanal and small-scale gold mining and coal combustion are supplemented by ones from metal smelters, chlor-alkali manufacturing and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production just to mention a few.

The world is acting: many mercury-containing products are already being phased out, and processes using mercury are increasingly being converted to alternative technologies.

A global, legally binding treaty translated into national laws and supported by creative financing, can accelerate and scale-up such responses and put the planet and its people on track to a more sustainable world.

The World Health Organization has concluded there are no safe limits in respect to mercury and its organic compounds and the impacts of mercury on human health have been known for centuries if not millennia.

In 2009, the Governing Council of UNEP governments showed leadership and commitment by agreeing to negotiate a global, legally-binding treaty currently approaching the final stages of negotiation for completion in 2013.

This treaty would catalyze and drive concerted international action on an environmental and human health issue brought to international recognition as a result of the infamous Minamata poisoning of fish and people in the middle of the 20th century.

I am sure this report and its straight forward presentation of the vital and fundamental facts can assist governments to conclude the negotiations successfully and adopt a treaty to begin lifting a health and environmental threat from the lives of tens of millions of people, not to mention the generations to come.


Achim Steiner
UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP
(Source: All information was taken from the Website & the Publication
)

Preface
“It is imperative that we act now!”
Background on Mercury
Impacts on human health and ecosystems
Emissions and releases
Mercury action
Acting now …
References
Index
The Global Mercury Partnership

Alex Kirby (text and editing)
Ieva Rucevska, Valentin Yemelin
Christy Cooke (GRID-Arendal)
Otto Simonett, Viktor Novikov, Geoff Hughes (Zoi Environment Network)

 
 
 
 

Partners


GCYB

SBA

CSR Manager Logo

 empty

 empty

 

 

 

 

 

Supporters


BMAS

    ESF 

empty


 empty

 

 

 

 

 

About Us // Privacy Policy // Copyright Information // Legal Disclaimer // Contact

Copyright © 2012-2018 macondo publishing GmbH. All rights reserved.
The CSR Academy is an independent learning platform of the macondo publishing group.