As discussed in a previous Earth Wise segment, people are exposed to mercury’s most toxic form through eating contaminated fish. In the U.S., 44 states have fish-advisories due to mercury pollution. And worldwide, fisheries and human health suffer from rising mercury contamination.
The Mercury Export Ban of 2008 seeks to protect the global environment by taking U.S. mercury supplies off the market. Before the ban went into effect—despite efforts to regulate American industry—our country was one of the world’s leading exporters of elemental mercury.
Most of our exports were bound for developing nations, where the toxic metal was used in highly polluting practices, like artisanal gold mining—which is considered one of the most significant sources of mercury release into the environment.
Now that it’s in effect, The Mercury Export Ban prevents the sale, distribution, transfer, and export of elemental mercury. It requires the Department of Energy to manage the long-term disposal of U.S. supplies.
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