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Global mercury emissions down 30 pct as coal use drops -USGS

Published 2016-01-13, 03:51 p/m
Global mercury emissions down 30 pct as coal use drops -USGS
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WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Global emissions of mercury
from manmade sources fell 30 percent from 1990 to 2010, in part
from decreasing use of coal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
reported on Wednesday.
The greatest decline of the toxic pollutant was in Europe
and North America, offsetting increases in Asia, the agency
said, citing an international study. The findings challenge
longstanding assumptions on emission trends and show that local
and regional efforts can have a major impact, it said.
"This is great news for focused efforts on reducing exposure
of fish, wildlife and humans to toxic mercury," said David
Krabbenhoft, a USGS scientist and one of the study's co-authors.
A metal that poses health risks, mercury can be converted
into a gas during industrial activities as well as such natural
events as volcanic eruptions.
The study was carried out by the USGS, Harvard University,
China's Peking University, Germany's Max Planck Institute for
Chemistry and the University of Alberta in Canada. It was
published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences.
The analysis found that the drop came because mercury had
been phased out of many commercial products. Controls have been
put in place on coal-fired power plants that removed mercury
from the coal being burned.
Many power plants also have switched to natural gas from
coal, the USGS said.

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