A renowned health risk, mercury is known to be a harmful substance – if pregnant women consume too much of the wrong kind of fish, for example, it could cause neurological damage to her baby. In addition, adults and children alike who are exposed to mercury can experience tremors or mood swings, and sometimes even respiratory failure leading to death.
The future looks set to attempt to combat mercury emissions, with dozens of countries meeting to discuss the options available regarding what limited control we have over mercury emissions and drawing up a legally binding treaty. The signing of the treaty is set to occur in Minamata, a Japanese city where a tragic widespread mercury poisoning occurred in the mid-20th century after a factory contaminated the seawater. It remains to be seen how strict regions will be and to what extent they will work towards this united goal.
It is estimated that around one third of the world’s mercury air emissions are from human activity such as coal-fired power plants. A further third is from natural origins such as wildfires or volcanoes and, finally, the last third is from re-emissions after the initial release. Asia emits around 50 percent of the human-generated percentage, with Europe and North Africa being responsible for around 12 percent combined.
Mercury can find its way into the sea, which affects fish such as tuna which is then harvested for human consumption, as well as travel causing air emissions between continents. It stays in the body’s system for a decade which poses serious health risks. There is ongoing research into the consequences of exposure to mercury as well, where factors such as genetics play an important part.
The control for pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide can help to reduce mercury emissions, and are known as co-benefits. To control only mercury is a costly endeavour but there is a growing importance on the control of this harmful product.
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