- Protection Agency (EPA) human health advisory guidelines. In the study, 43 to 100 percent of fish samples from 8 countries exceeded safe consumption of one fish meal of 170 grams (6 ounces) per month. Mercury concentrations in fish from sites in Japan and Uruguay were so high that no consumption is recommended.
- More than 82 percent of human hair samples from 8 countries exceeded U.S. EPA reference dose levels of 1.0 ppm. In Thailand, 20 out of 20 individuals living near an industrial site had unsafe levels; 19 out of 20 Indonesians at a gold mining site exceeded EPA recommended levels; and 18 out of 20 individuals in Tokyo, Japan had similarly high levels.
Objections to naming the treaty after one of the world's worst mercury contamination sites, Minamata, Japan, have also been raised by some government delegates, the Minamata City Council, and organizations representing victims of the tragedy.
Large, intentional uses of mercury include small-scale gold mining, coal combustion, and vinyl chloride monomer production. Much of the mercury produced and used eventually volatizes into the atmosphere and travels around the globe, eventually falling back to the earth or ocean.
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