Mercury Agreement

The objective of the Minamata Convention is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. To support this objective, it contains provisions covering the entire life cycle of mercury, including controls and reductions in a number of products, processes and industries where mercury is used, released or emitted. The contract also covers the direct extraction of mercury, its export and import, its safe storage and its single disposal as waste. The identification of vulnerable populations, the intensification of medical care and better training of health professionals in the identification and treatment of the effects of mercury will also result from the implementation of the Convention. It is a complex development problem with few simple answers. The sector is informal and unregulated. Many workers are poor and this work is an important source of income. They use mercury because it is the most economical option, while large mining facilities use more expensive processes. This has long been one of the main challenges in implementing global efforts to reduce mercury use. First, the Mercury Treaty focuses on a single issue with a separate list of sectors involved in its production and use. A global treaty that includes lead and cadmium should address many sources that are very different.

Coal can cause mercury and cadmium emissions, and batteries contain lead and mercury. But there are many differences that would complicate the negotiations. A heavy metals contract should cover the range of sources, from industrial processes and fertilizers to everyday products such as paints and cosmetics. That`s a long list for a single contract. For many sectors, a wide range of interests would be on the table, which would have to be reconciled. Focusing on a single topic contributed to the conclusion of a contract with timelines for the expansion and dismantling phases. In 2009, given the current impact and persistent threats of continued mercury contamination, governments around the world agreed to begin negotiations on a legally binding global mercury treaty, with the aim of completing it within four years. In January 2013, the fifth and final meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) on the preparation of the Treaty was held in Geneva, where agreement was reached on the text of the new Treaty. The Minamata Convention helps countries limit the use of mercury, introduce non-toxic alternatives to the element and eliminate mercury pollution, protecting the environment and possibly millions of lives. Emissions and releases of mercury to the atmosphere, water and land could be addressed under available technology and best practice guidelines in combination with monitoring. Inventories of mercury use, emissions and releases are reviewed.

Sharing information on strategies and working methods on these different inventories will be the key to collective learning. Selin, N. E. & Selin, H. (2006). Global Policy on Mercury Pollution: The Need for Multi-Scale Governance. Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, 15(3), 258-269. The largest source of man-made mercury emissions is the artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector, which is responsible for releasing up to 1,000 tonnes of mercury into the atmosphere each year. [5] Science will continue to play a crucial role in ensuring the effective and cost-effective implementation of the Convention by its Parties. For example, we know that artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is the largest user and emitter of mercury into the environment in the world, accounting for 37% of total consumption and 38% of total anthropogenic emissions in 2015 (UNEP, 2019). In 1972, 15-year-old Shinobu Sakamoto left his fishing village in Japan to attend the first world conference on the human environment in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a long journey, but especially for Sakamoto, who was hampered by methylmercury poisoning in utero.

She is one of many people who suffer from the so-called Minamata disease, which was named after the city where the poisoning took place. In 2003, the Governing Council reviewed this assessment and found that there was sufficient evidence of significant global adverse effects of mercury and its compounds to warrant further international action to reduce the risks to human health and the environment from their release to the environment. Governments were invited to adopt targets for reducing mercury emissions and releases, and un-Environment launched technical assistance and capacity-building measures to achieve those targets. .