Legal Framework for Control of Mercury Pollution in AmbientAir–A Review on Best Environmental Practices (BEP) and BestAvailable Technologies (BAT) for Mitigation of Mercury Pollution

Abstract

Traces of mercury present in the ambient air has led the world to talk about mercury pollution in the environment that consequently resulted in
the introduction of the Minamata Convention (MC) on Mercury, an international treaty on mercury. It was signed on 10th October 2013 in Japan that became effective from 16th August 2017. The Minamata Convention is a global treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions of mercury and its compounds. The MC recognizes mercury as a pollutant of global concern considering mercury to be capable of long-range transport, to be persistent, and to bioaccumulate, which ultimately results in elevated human exposure levels associated with a range of negative health effects. The main concern of the convention is the health impacts of mercury on the human beings and to regulate its emissions by noting its sources. In addition to this, chemistry of mercury and its compounds, long-range transport, prevention and control technologies relating to mercury are the other concerns of the convention. Initially, Mercury, also known as Quicksilver, had been noted for developing public health disasters in Minamata Bay, Japan. Broadly, it exists in two chemical forms, namely, inorganic mercury and organic mercury. The most common form of mercury contributing to the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities is gaseous elemental mercury. The target organ for inhaled mercury vapor is primarily the brain. Toxicity varies with dosage, large acute exposures to elemental mercury vapor induce severe pneumonitis, that in extreme cases are often fatal. The paper discusses the best available techniques to regulate the mercury concentration in ambient air and mentions the concentration of mercury removal by various control techniques.