Once emitted or released, mercury persists in the environ- ment where it circulates between air, water, sediments, soil and living creatures. It can travel long distances to areas far from any production or use, like the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Mercury levels are continuing to rise in some species in large areas of the Arctic, despite reduc- tions in emissions from human activities over the past 15–30 years in some parts of the world. High exposure to mercury is a serious risk to humans worldwide through the food chain. Solving these problems could be costly, particularly related to remediation. Will this get sufficient attention and money in the next 20 years to fix?
– One of the key approaches to addressing the issue of con- taminated sites is to prevent their occurrence in the future. Many of the measures we are already putting in place and hope to increase, are working towards reducing emissions to air, water and land, by reducing the use of mercury in prod- ucts and processes, and ensuring the sound management of mercury-containing waste. These measures are designed to reduce contamination of the environment, and thus to also reduce re-emissions in the future. Reduction and eventual elimination of primary mercury mining will also avoid con- tamination from these sites. It is very challenging, at this stage, to predict what the global situation will be over the next 20 years, and to say whether there will be adequate funding to completely solve the burden of many years of industrialized activity. However, I can say with some confidence, that should we succeed in properly implementing many of the measures currently in place and under discussion, we will be reducing the future burden of mercury pollution as well as its associ- ated costs to humanity and the environment.
HEALTH
The global burden of diseases attributed to exposure to hazardous chemicals is already significant and is likely to become more serious. Infants, children and pregnant wom- en are the most vulnerable to the health effects of mercury. What are the concrete measures to reduce health risks?
– The global burden of disease related to mercury is well-recog- nized and is a major driving force for international action. Gov- ernments have recognized that mercury poses a global threat to human health and the environment. In considering this, it should be recognized that the greatest health risks from mer- cury arise from the consumption of fish with high levels of me- thyl mercury, particularly by members of vulnerable groups. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been closely involved in developing background information utilized in the negotiations, and has come out with policy papers on issues such as health risks associated with the use of mercury in, for example, dental amalgam and vaccines. I rely on their expert input in this regard.
– International action is directly addressing the major health concerns through the reduction of emissions and releases to the environment. This includes reduction from point sources, and overall reductions seen with the decreased use of mer- cury-containing products, decreased use of processes utiliz- ing mercury, sound waste management, and a structural approach to reducing the use of mercury in ASGM. These measures will reduce the mercury levels in fish as environ- mental levels go down. In some species of fish, this reduction may be seen quite quickly, while in other species, levels will decrease more slowly as a factor of their size, age and diet. However, much of the mercury emitted historically will con- tinue to impact the environment for years to come. It is thus imperative that we act now to reduce future emissions and releases to the maximum extent possible in order to stop add- ing more to the global environment.