UNEP Alerts On Risks Of Mercury Exposure

Communities in developing countries are facing increasing health and environmental risks linked to exposure to mercury, according to new studies by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The is contained in a statement issued by UNEP in Nairobi and received by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

The UNEP studies stated that parts of Africa, Asia and South America could experience increasing emissions of mercury into the environment.

They attributed the development to the use of the toxic element in small-scale gold mining, and through the burning of coal for electricity generation.

The Global Mercury Assessment 2013, reported that emissions of the toxic metal from artisanal gold mining had doubled since 2005 partly due to new and better information as well as rising gold prices. Due to rapid industrialisation, Asia is the largest regional emitter of mercury, and accounts for just under half of all global releases, the report stated.

The UNEP study assessed for the first time a global level releases of mercury into rivers and lakes. The studies noted that much human exposure to mercury was  through the consumption of contaminated fish, making aquatic environments the critical link to human health. “In the past 100 years, man-made emissions have caused the amount of mercury in the top 100 metres of the world’s oceans to double.

“Concentrations in deeper waters have increased by up to 25 per cent,’’ the study noted.

The studies, which provided a comprehensive breakdown of mercury emissions by region and economic sector, also highlighted significant releases into the environment linked to contaminated sites and deforestation. They stated that an estimated 260 tonnes of mercury – previously held in soils – were being released into rivers and lakes.

The statement said that along with a parallel UNEP publication entitled “Mercury: Time to Act’’, the new assessment would be formally presented at the International Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC5), to be held in Geneva from January 13 to January 18, 2013. It added that governments attending the major conference would seek to conclude discussions on a global legally binding treaty to minimise risks to people and the environment from exposure to mercury.

This, it said, would reduce cases of neurological and behavioral disorders, among other health problems linked to mercury, as well as the contamination of soils and rivers caused by man-made emissions of the metal.

Governments gave the green light to negotiations towards a global treaty in 2009 at the UNEP Governing Council held in Nairobi, Kenya. “Mercury, which exists in various forms, remains a major global, regional and national challenge in terms of threats to human health and the environment. “In 2009 at the UNEP Governing Council, nations agreed to launch negotiations for a legally binding treaty aimed at bringing down releases from sources such as industry and mining, address mercury-containing products, and tackle historical pollution sites—the final negotiations.