Environment Ministers To Tackle Mercury Pollution
Date: 23-Feb-09
Country: KENYA
Author: Daniel Wallis
Environment Ministers To Tackle Mercury Pollution Photo: Cheryl Ravelo
A raw gold chip is torched to melt the mercury within it at a gold buying
station in Mt. Diwalwal Monkayo town, Compostela Valley province, southern
Philippines February 8, 2007.
Photo: Cheryl Ravelo
NAIROBI - More than 140 nations agreed on Friday to negotiate a legally
binding global treaty to phase out the use of deadly mercury, a toxic heavy
metal that threatens the health of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
The deal came at a major UN meeting of environment ministers in Kenya after
President Barack Obama's new administration said on Monday the United States
had reversed its stance on the issue and was now in favour of a legal ban.
"This is truly good news and I hope that citizens across the world will
embrace this decision," UN Environment Programme (UNEP) head Achim Steiner
told a news conference.
"Today the world's environment ministers, armed with the full facts and full
choices, decided the time for talking was over but the time for action on
this pollution is now."
About 6,000 tonnes of mercury -- which has been known for more than a
century to damage the human nervous system -- enter the environment every
year. Mercury's other effects include liver damage, memory loss or
disturbances to vision.
Of the total, 2,000 tonnes is from coal burnt in power stations and homes.
Increased coal use in Asia means emissions may be rising, UNEP experts fear.
Western countries have slashed their usage of mercury, but activists say
poorer nations are increasingly relying on it for processes including
small-scale gold mining.
The new agreement covers a package of measures aimed at reducing demand in
industrial products and processes, while also seeking to cut emissions to
the atmosphere and clean up contaminated sites.
The European Union had already called for an international treaty, and hopes
were high ahead of this week's meeting that the new US government would
reverse its predecessor's stance and support that. Some states favour a
voluntary approach.
Preparations for negotiations on the treaty will start later this year,
officials said, with discussions beginning in earnest in 2010 and aiming to
wrap up by 2013.
Anti-mercury campaigners hailed Friday's unanimous agreement, saying the US
U-turn had encouraged other countries, notably India and China, to back the
proposal.
"This was made possible by President Obama's global view and the inspiration
and momentum generated by it," said Michael Bender, director of the US
Mercury Policy Project and the Zero Mercury Working Group.
(Editing by David Clarke and Richard Hubbard)
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