Most of the world’s estimated 600,000 tonnes of mercury
deposits are found in a handful of countries.
Even now, mercury is commonplace in daily life. Electrical and electronic devices, switches (including thermostats) and relays, measuring and control equipment, energy- efficient fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, mascara, skin- lightening creams and other cosmetics which contain mercury, dental fillings and a host of other consumables are used across the globe. Food products obtained from fish, terrestrial mammals and other products such as rice can contain mercury. It is still widely used in health care equipment, where much of it is used for measuring, and in blood pressure devices and thermometers, although their use is declining. There are safe and cost-effective replacements for mercury for many health care applica- tions and for pharmaceuticals, and goals have been set to phase out some mercury-containing devices altogeth- er. For instance, the UNEP Mercury Products Partnership, a mechanism for delivery of immediate actions, has set the goal of reducing demand for mercury-containing fe- ver thermometers and blood pressure devices by at least 70 per cent by 2017.
Most of the world’s estimated 600,000 tonnes of mercury de- posits are found in a handful of countries, including China, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine (USGS, 2012). Primary mining (where mercury is the target ore, not extracted as a by-product) is now limited to even fewer countries, with only one (Kyrgyzstan) still exporting.
In 2005, UNEP estimated global annual mercury demand at be- tween 3,000 and 3,900 tonnes (UNEP, 2006). Demand has fallen significantly in the last 50 years, from 9,000 tonnes a year in the 1960s to 7,000 in the 1980s and 4,000 a decade later (UNEP, 2006). A growing understanding of the risks posed by the toxicity of mer- cury, the increasing availability of substitutes and international ac- tion mean that many uses of mercury are now disappearing.
Given present trends, it appears likely that most uses of mercury will continue to decline except in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and in the production of vinyl chloride mono- mer (VCM) which together accounts for around 45 per cent of all global demand.