Eco-groups warn warn of the dangers of burning ‘mercury-added products’ that lead to increased mercury pollution.
A new study, released around the world, shows that the burning of mercury-added products contributes more than 200 tonnes of mercury to the atmosphere every year, comprising 10 percent of the mercury that enters the earth’s atmosphere through human activities.
The study, entitled “Mercury Rising: Reducing Global Emissions from Burning Mercury-Added Products” was released by several international non-governmental organizations. The report notes that mercury emissions from product wastes have been inadequately understood and seriously underestimated.
According to Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project:
Based on this report’s findings, we believe it is important to recognize that the burning of products containing mercury is much more significant than previously suspected. Our review shows that burning mercury product wastes contributes at least two times more mercury emissions to the global atmosphere than previously thought.
The launch of the Report coincides with the 3rd anniversary of the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) that over 100 governments adopted to foster and achieve chemical safety.
The study showed that globally, the main sources of air emissions from the burning of mercury-added products in waste such as fluorescent lightbulbs, mercury thermometers, not including manufacturing wastes are:
- municipal and hazardous waste incineration (41 percent of the total air emissions related to burning of mercury-added products;
- landfill fires and open burning of mercury-added products in waste (45 percent of the total);
- medical waste incineration (11 percent of the total),
- and municipal wastewater sludge incineration (3 percent of the total).
Lawyer Richard Gutierrez of Ban Toxics said:
We urge countries to take immediate steps to stop incineration as a method of waste disposal, including mercury burning practices, and move expeditiously towards safe, just, sustainable and more environmentally-sound alternatives.
The report recommends that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), at its upcoming February meeting in Nairobi, South Africa, establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the purpose of negotiating a free-standing legally binding instrument on mercury.
Download “Mercury Rising: Reducing Global Emissions from Burning Mercury-added Products” and the Executive Summary.
Notes:
1. Mercury and its compounds are highly toxic to humans, especially to the developing nervous system. They are also harmful to ecosystems and wildlife populations.
2. Mercury is released by natural sources like volcanoes, by evaporation from soil and water surfaces, as well as through the degradation of minerals and forest fires. Part of today’s emissions from soil and water surfaces, however, is composed of previous deposition of mercury from both man-made and natural sources.
3. Mercury is contained as a trace element in coal. The large use of coal-fired power plants in generating electricity, make mercury emissions to the air from this source among the world’s largest.
For more information about mercury please visit: www.zeromercury.org
This report is authored by the Mercury Policy Project, and is co-released by the following:
The Zero Mercury Working Group – an international coalition of more than 40 public interest non-governmental organizations from around the world formed in 2005 by the European Environmental Bureau. The aim of the group is to continually reduce emissions, demand and supply of mercury, from all sources we can control, with the goal of eliminating mercury in the environment at EU level and globally.
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives / Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA) – a worldwide alliance of more than 600 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 80 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. GAIA work against incinerators and for safe, sustainable and just alternatives.
Ban Toxics! – an independent non-profit Asian regional environmental non-governmental organization that is focused on empowering local communities on the issue of toxics in order to reform national and regional toxics policy, making it more responsive and respectful to the needs of people and the environment.