INTERNATIONAL POPs ELIMINATION NETWORK An NGO Introduction to Mercury Pollution By Jack Weinberg Senior Policy Advisor International POPs Elimination Network INTERNATIONAL POPs ELIMINATION NETWORK The International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN) is a global network of health and environmental organizations working in more than a hundred countries. The network was originally founded to promote the negotiation of a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from a class of toxic chemicals called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Then, following adoption by Governments of the Stockholm Convention on POPs, IPEN expanded its mission beyond POPs and now supports local, national, regional and international efforts to protect health and the environment from harms caused by exposure to toxic chemicals. This booklet may only be reproduced for non-commercial purposes with the permission of IPEN. Cover photos top to bottom: 1) Shutterstock® Images, 2) Shutterstock® Images, 3) iStockphoto®, 4) Global Mercury Project, 2007, 5) iStockphoto®, 6) iStockphoto® List of Abbreviations and Acronyms AAP American Academy of Pediatrics ALMR Association of Lamp and Mercury Recyclers AMDE Atmospheric Mercury Depletion Event APCD Air Pollution Control Device ASGM Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining BAT Best Available Techniques BPOM Indonesian Food and Drug Control Agency CDC United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CFL Compact Fluorescent Lamp COP Conference of Parties CSO Civil Society Organization EMEA European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products EPA Environmental Protection Agency EPR Extended Producer Responsibility FAO United Nations Food Agriculture Organization FDA Food and Drug Administration FGD Flue Gas Desulfurization Systems GAIA Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives GC UNEP Governing Council GEM Gaseous Elemental Mercury HCWH Health Care Without Harm HID High-Intensity Discharge Lamp IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer IPEN International POPs Elimination Network LCD Liquid Crystal Displays LED Light-Emitting Diode LNG Liquid Natural Gas MSDS Material Safety Data Sheet NGO Non-governmental Organization PAN Pesticide Action Network POP Persistent Organic Pollutant PTWI Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake PVC Polyvinyl Chloride RGM Reactive Gaseous Mercury RoHS Restrictions in the use of Hazardous Substances S/S Solidification/Stabilization SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction TGM Total Gaseous Mercury IPEN: Working Together for a Toxics-free Future 1 Contents 1. Foreword ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2. Introduction to Mercury in the Environment ............................................................................ 8 3. Toxicological Effects of Mercury and Methylmercury .......................................................... 13 3.1 Elemental Mercury and Inorganic Mercury Salts ........................................................ 14 3.2 Methylmercury ................................................................................................................... 15 3.3 Environmental Impacts of Methylmercury .................................................................... 18 4. Mercury Pollution ........................................................................................................................ 21 4.1 Acute Mercury Pollution and Minamata Disease ........................................................ 21 4.2 Mercury-Contaminated Fish ............................................................................................ 23 4.3 Mercury-Contaminated Rice ........................................................................................... 28 5. How Mercury Gets Into the Environment ................................................................................ 31 6. Mercury Supply ........................................................................................................................... 37 6.1 Mercury Mining.................................................................................................................. 37 6.2 Producing Elemental Mercury as a By-Product in Nonferrous Metals Refining ........................................................................................ 39 6.3 Elemental Mercury from Natural Gas ............................................................................ 40 6.4 Mercury Recycling and Recovery .................................................................................. 41 6.5 The Need to Reduce Mercury Supply ............................................................................ 42 7. Intentional Sources: Mercury in Products .............................................................................. 46 7.1 Mercury in Medical Devices ........................................................................................... 46 7.2 Mercury-Containing Switches ........................................................................................ 48 7.3 Mercury in Batteries ......................................................................................................... 51 7.4 Mercury in Fluorescent Lamps ........................................................................................ 54 7.5 Other Mercury-Containing Lamps .................................................................................. 59 7.6 Mercury in Measuring Devices ....................................................................................... 62 7.7 Mercury in Dental Amalgam ............................................................................................ 63 7.8 Mercury-Containing Pesticides and Biocides .............................................................. 66 2 An NGO Introduction to Mercury Pollution 7.9 Mercury in Laboratories and Schools ............................................................................ 68 7.10 Mercury in Cosmetics ....................................................................................................... 69 7.11 Mercury in Medicine ......................................................................................................... 72 7.12 Mercury in Cultural Products, Traditional Medicines, and Jewelry ......................... 78 8. Intentional Sources: Mercury in Mining and Industrial Processes .................................... 87 8.1 Mercury Use in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining ............................................ 87 8.2 Mercury in Chlor-Alkali Production ................................................................................ 91 8.3 Mercury Catalysts Used for Chemical Production ....................................................... 96 9. Unintentional Mercury Sources ............................................................................................. 102 9.1 Coal-Fired Power Plants ................................................................................................. 102 9.2 Other Fossil Fuel Combustion ........................................................................................ 113 9.3 Cement Production .......................................................................................................... 116 9.4 Metals Mining and Refining ........................................................................................... 119 10. Mercury Wastes and Contaminated Sites ............................................................................ 126 10.1 Product Wastes ................................................................................................................ 126 10.2 Mercury Process and By-Product Wastes ................................................................. 129 10.3 Mercury in Soils and Water ........................................................................................... 129 10.4 Long-Term Storage of Elemental Mercury .................................................................. 131 11. Toward a Global Treaty to Control Mercury .......................................................................... 138 11.1 Global Mercury Assessment Report ............................................................................ 138 11.2 Decision to Negotiate a Mercury-Control Treaty ....................................................... 140 12. Negotiating an Effective Global Mercury-Control Treaty ................................................... 143 13. IPEN Views on a Global Mercury Treaty ............................................................................... 146 14. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 152 IPEN: Working Together for a Toxics-free Future 3 4 An NGO Introduction to Mercury Pollution 1. Foreword This is a booklet about the toxic environmental pollutant mercury. It provides information about mercury pollution and its harm to human health and the environment. The booklet also presents the major sources of mercury pollu- tion and calls for civil society efforts at the local, national, and global level to work toward controlling human activities that release mercury into the environment. The booklet gives special attention to current intergovernmental discussions and negotiations aimed at establishing a global mercury-control treaty, and it encourages nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs)