'Integrating Knowledge to Inform Mercury Policy'

IKIMP has today released a report on Mercury arising from oil and gas production in the United Kingdom and UK continental shelf which is now avialable for download.

Chemistry World News, 23 December 2011

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its long-awaited standards to limit mercury, lead and other toxic pollutants emitted by power plants. These are the US’s first national standards for mercury and other dangerous emissions from new and existing coal and oil-fired power plants.

The new mercury and air toxics standards (MATS) aims to cut emissions of heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, chromium and nickel, as well as acid gases such as hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid. The EPA says these toxic air pollutants are linked to cancer and other serious illnesses. 

Nairobi, 3 November 2011 - Representatives from 120 governments gathered at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programmed (UNEP) in Nairobi for negotiations towards a global treaty on mercury.

The third of five sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC3) will address the release of mercury into the environment from energy production and industrial processes and the use of mercury in small-scale gold mining, consumer goods and its presence in hazardous wastes, among other issues.

Following a workshop in May 2011 IKIMP has prepared a policy briefing on the current understanding of the global mercury cycle. Over 20 international experts attended the workshop in Oxford and the policy briefing document is a synthesis of the discussions. Further details and the policy briefing are available for download on the IKIMP website.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes new national Power Plant Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

Bacterial genome may hold answers to mercury mystery

Feathers tell century-plus tale of mercury pollution

Study claims mercury from eating fish not linked to heart disease‎

The realisation of a global treaty on mercury is gaining momentum following a meeting of over 120 states in Japan. Governments met last week in the city of Chiba to continue negotiations on creating a global treaty on mercury and help reduce sources of mercury pollution.

The meeting concluded that:

• the presence of mercury in the environment still remains of global concern;
• there is a need to reduce risks to human health and the environment from mercury;
• dealing with major emissions of mercury from industry, in particular from coal combustion for power generation, the phasing out of mercury use in  products, encouraging small-scale gold miners to end the use of mercury amalgamation, and the management of mercury waste and contaminated sites remains a challenge;
• there is need to continue to allow mercury to be used in products and processes subject to exemptions, and such mercury needs to be clearly defined to distinguish it from mercury waste;
• the disposal of mercury is particularly difficult; and
• although coal combustion is the largest source of mercury emissions to air some Nations noted during the negotiations the importance of any controls not restricting their economic development and indicating their unwillingness to consider binding mercury reduction targets.

The INC2 meeting ended with the committee setting a mandate for UNEP to develop a draft text of the comprehensive and suitable approach to mercury for consideration at INC3 to be held in Africa in October 2011.

Full text of Press release available at UNEP website.

IISD Reporting Services – During the morning plenary, delegates completed their first reading of the elements paper (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/3), focusing on institutional arrangements, settlement of disputes, further development of the convention and final provisions.

In the afternoon delegates heard brief oral reports of informal consultations on: the preamble (Article 3); primary mining (Article 3); products, processes and transitional measures (Articles 7, 8 and 14); financial resources and technical and implementation assistance (Articles 15, 16 ans 17); and awareness-raising, research and monitoring and communication of information (Articles 18 and 19).

Delegates then considered the draft report (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/L.1, Add.1 and Add.2) and it was adopted following numerous textual amendments. Chair Lugris gavelled the meeting to a close at 6:17pm.

A summary and analysis of INC2 will be available on this page on Monday, 31 January 2011.

IISD Reporting Services – During the morning plenary, delegates continued discussions of the elements paper (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/3), focusing on measures to reduce releases of mercury to air, water and land: Article 10, atmospheric emissions; and Article 11, releases to water and land. A contact group on emissions, co-chaired by Wijarn Simayacha (Thailand) and John Roberts (UK) was mandated to continue discussions on the issue.

In the afternoon delegates then turned their attention to financial resources and technical and implementation assistance: Article 15, financial resources and mechanisms; Article 16, technical assistance; and Article 17, implementation committee. Delegates then considered awareness-raising, research and monitoring and communication of information, focusing on: Article 18, information exchange, Article 19, public information, awareness and education; Article 20, research development and monitoring; Article 21, implementation plans; Article 22, reporting; and Article 23, effectiveness evaluation.

IISD Reporting Services – During the morning plenary, delegates heard reports back from storage and waste contact group Co-Chair Katerina Sebkova (Czech Republic), and from ASGM contact group Co-Chair Felipe Ferreira (Brazil). Both contact groups were mandated to continue their work.

Delegates continued discussion on the elements paper (UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/INC.2/3) beginning with Article 5, on international trade with parties in mercury or mercury compounds and Article 6, and on international trade with non-parties in mercury or mercury compounds. Delegates then considered measures to reduce intentional use of mercury, discussing Article 7, mercury-added products, Article 8, manufacturing processes in which mercury is used, and Article 14, allowable-use exemptions, as a cluster of interlinked issues.
In the late afternoon delegates turned their attention to measures to reduce releases of mercury to air, water and land: Article 10, atmospheric emissions; and Article 11, releases to water and land.

Remember, the abstract submission deadline for the 10th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) in Halifax, Nova Scotia is midnight (23:59 AST) on February 15, 2011