Eliminate mercury use, UNEP urged
Environmental groups have urged the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to take steps in eliminating the use of mercury ahead of the Governing Council meeting in Nairobi this month.
In their project report titled “Mercury Rising: Reducing Global Emissions form Burning Mercury-Added Products,” Zero Mercury Working Group, Ban Toxics and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives urged UNEP to form an intergovernmental body that will regulate the use of mercury in the manufacture of products.
This as they asked the UN body to implement actions needed to shift to a mercury-free production, noting that burning mercury-containing products produces about 200 tons of toxic emissions every year.
These products include mercury thermometers, fluorescent light bulbs, skin lightening creams, laptop LCD, batteries, and dental amalgams (commonly known as tooth pasta), the report said.
It also noted that about 41 percent of the total air emissions from burning mercury-containing products come from municipal toxic waste incineration.
The US environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council said that mercury exposure during the prenatal and infancy stages can result to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, deafness, and blindness.
Adults exposed to mercury meanwhile could suffer from memory loss, tremors, vision loss, and numbness of the fingers and toes.
Richard Gutierrez, coordinator of Ban Toxics-Asia Pacific, said mercury pollution is a serious concern for countries like the Philippines where seafood diet is common.
Large fish species such as swordfish, mackerel, and blue marlin are most susceptible to mercury contamination, he said.
“The danger of mercury pollution is when you emit a lot of mercury, the area of contamination is not confined into one place. It is capable of global transport,” Gutierrez said. “Hence, the more emitted mercury, the larger the area of contamination. Therefore, there’s a high risk of eating food contaminated with mercury.”
In the United States, about 12 million acres of lakes, estuaries, and wetlands have been contaminated by mercury, the NRDC said.
When mercury is ingested, it acts as a neurotoxin that affects the brain and the nervous system, the group warned.
Even in the medical field, the use of mercury is gradually being phased out. In July 2008, the Department of Health issued Administrative Order No. 21 or the Gradual Phase-Out of Mercury in all Philippine Health Care Facilities and Institutions.
“The easiest way to deal with it is not to be exposed with it. Instead of using mercury thermometer, use digital thermometer,” said Gutierrez.
Izah Morales, inquirer.net
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