Survey of mercury and mercury compounds Part of the LOUS-review Environmental Project No. 1544, 2014 Title: Authors and contributors: Survey of mercury and mercury compounds Jakob Maag Jesper Kjølholt Sonja Hagen Mikkelsen Christian Nyander Jeppesen Anna Juliana Clausen and Mie Ostenfeldt COWI A/S, Denmark Published by: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency Strandgade 29 1401 Copenhagen K Denmark www.mst.dk/english Year: ISBN no. 2014 978-87-93026-98-8 Disclaimer: When the occasion arises, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency will publish reports and papers concerning research and development projects within the environmental sector, financed by study grants provided by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. It should be noted that such publications do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. However, publication does indicate that, in the opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the content represents an important contribution to the debate surrounding Danish environmental policy. While the information provided in this report is believed to be accurate, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency disclaims any responsibility for possible inaccuracies or omissions and consequences that may flow from them. Neither the Danish Environmental Protection Agency nor COWI or any individual involved in the preparation of this publication shall be liable for any injury, loss, damage or prejudice of any kind that may be caused by persons who have acted based on their understanding of the information contained in this publication. Sources must be acknowledged. 2 Survey of mercury and mercury compounds Contents Preface ...................................................................................................................... 5 Summary and conclusions ......................................................................................... 7 Sammenfatning og konklusion ................................................................................ 14 1. Introduction to the substance group ................................................................. 21 1.1 Definition of the substance group ........................................................................................ 21 1.2 Physical and chemical properties ........................................................................................ 22 1.3 Function of the substances for main application areas ...................................................... 22 2. Regulatory framework...................................................................................... 24 2.1 Legislation ............................................................................................................................ 24 2.1.1 Existing legislation ................................................................................................ 24 2.1.2 Classification and labelling ................................................................................... 38 2.1.3 REACH ................................................................................................................... 41 2.1.4 Other legislation/initiatives .................................................................................. 42 2.2 International agreements .................................................................................................... 43 2.3 Eco-labels ............................................................................................................................. 47 2.4 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 47 3. Manufacture and uses ...................................................................................... 48 3.1 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................... 48 3.1.1 Manufacturing processes ...................................................................................... 48 3.1.2 Manufacturing sites .............................................................................................. 48 3.1.3 Manufacturing volumes ........................................................................................ 49 3.2 Import and export ................................................................................................................ 50 3.2.1 Import and export of mercury and mercury compounds (on their own) in Denmark ................................................................................................................ 50 3.2.2 Import and export of mercury and mercury compounds in the EU .................... 51 3.3 Uses ...................................................................................................................................... 52 3.3.1 Use, and trends in use, of mercury and mercury compounds in Denmark ........ 52 3.3.2 Use of mercury and mercury compounds in the EU ........................................... 58 3.3.3 Global use of mercury and mercury compounds ................................................. 67 3.4 Summary and conclusions on manufacture and uses ........................................................ 67 4. Waste management .......................................................................................... 69 4.1 Waste from production processes and industrial use of mercury and mercury compounds ........................................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Waste products from the use of mercury and mercury compounds in mixtures and articles .................................................................................................................................. 70 4.1 Release of mercury from waste disposal ..............................................................................73 4.2 Summary and conclusions for waste management .............................................................73 5. Environmental effects and exposure ................................................................. 74 5.1 Environmental hazard ......................................................................................................... 74 5.1.1 Classification ......................................................................................................... 74 5.1.2 Environmental effects ........................................................................................... 74 Survey of mercury and mercury compounds 3 5.2 Environmental fate .............................................................................................................. 76 5.2.1 Long range transport and mercury and mercury compounds in the Arctic Environment .......................................................................................................... 77 5.3 Environmental exposure ...................................................................................................... 77 5.3.1 Sources of release emissions to the environment in Denmark ............................ 77 5.3.2 Monitoring data .................................................................................................... 82 5.4 Summary and conclusions on environmental effects and exposure.................................. 85 6. Human health effects and exposure .................................................................. 86 6.1 Human health hazard .......................................................................................................... 86 6.1.1 Classification ......................................................................................................... 88 6.2 Human exposure and risk assessment ................................................................................ 90 6.2.1 Direct exposure pathways in Denmark ................................................................ 94 6.3 Biomonitoring data .............................................................................................................. 94 6.4 Summary and conclusions regarding human health effects and exposure ....................... 95 7. Information on alternatives .............................................................................. 97 7.1 Identification of possible alternatives ................................................................................. 97 7.2 Historical and future trends .............................................................................................. 103 7.3 Summary and conclusions on alternatives ....................................................................... 106 8. Overall findings and conclusions .................................................................... 108 9. Abbreviations and acronyms .......................................................................... 109 References ............................................................................................................. 111 Appendix 1: Mercury compounds pre-registered by ECHA (2013) ...................... 115 Appendix 2: Background information to Section 2 on regulatory framework ..... 123 Appendix 3: Ecolabels ....................................................................................... 129 4 Survey of mercury and mercury compounds Preface Background and objectives The Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s List of Undesirable Substances (LOUS) is intended as a guide for enterprises. It indicates