Efforts to tackle the environmental and health threat posed by mercury have grown over recent decades, according to the reports. Notable actions include:
> The UNEP Mercury Products Partnership has set the goal of reducing demand for mercury-containing thermometers and blood pressure devices by 70% by 2017.
> The United States has finalised its Mercury and Air Toxics Standard which predicts to reduce mercury emissions by 20 tonnes by 2016.
> The European Union banned mercury exports in 2011 and the US started an export ban on Jan 1.
> UNEP has supported National Action Plans by Argentina, Uruguay and other countries to find environmentally-sound solutions for the storage and disposal of excess mercury and waste products.
Yet despite such steps, coordinated action on a global level to reduce environmental and health risks posed by exposure to mercury has been comparatively slow.
No comments:
Post a Comment