U.S. Could Block International Action on Mercury

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U.S. Could Block International Action on Mercury

By Cat Lazaroff

WASHINGTON, DC, January 28, 2003 (ENS) - The United States plans to attempt to

thwart future talks on mercury pollution at an international meeting next month,

suggests an internal document leaked to a mercury watchdog group. The leaked

paper provides talking points for U.S. negotiators who will argue against

international limits on mercury releases or other mandatory measures aimed at

reducing the risk of mercury exposure.

The document was leaked in advance of next week's meeting of the United Nations

Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. At the

meeting, the council will review the recommendations of the UNEP Global Mercury

Assessment Working Group, an assembly of about 150 experts which concluded last

year that " there is sufficient evidence of significant global adverse impacts to

warrant international action to reduce the risks to human health and the

environment arising from the release of mercury into the environment. "

Mercury is a toxic metal that is liquid at room temperature. (Photo courtesy

Zyra)The political decisions made by the Governing Council will set the course

for global action on mercury for years to come. But the United States is

preparing to argue in favor of less action, less funding and less future

discussion of the issue.

" We believe that negotiating a binding convention on mercury is not the most

effective way to approach this issue at this time, and we should block any

attempts to move forward on one at this meeting, " advises the U.S. government

deliberative document. The U.S. should " strive to prevent specific references to

a convention, " the document adds, as " Negotiating a convention would be

expensive, time consuming, and extremely difficult. "

The document, drafted by John Thompson, foreign affairs officer for the State

Department's Office of Environmental Policy, proposes the creation of a Mercury

Program within the UNEP Chemicals Division, " for the purpose of facilitating and

conducting technical assistance and capacity building activities to support the

efforts of countries to take action regarding mercury pollution. "

However, the document opposes the idea of international targets for reducing

mercury emissions, recommends against additional talks regarding mercury, and

suggests that the UNEP mercury program be funded by " voluntary contributions "

from nations. The U.S. delegation to the meeting " should oppose convening a

formal expert or policy group meeting such as the September 2002 Mercury Working

Group, " the document states.

Fires and fossil fuel burning can add mercury to the environment. (Photo

courtesy U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)The UNEP Working Group met in

Geneva, Switzerland in September 2002 and finalized the global mercury

assessment report for submittal to the Nairobi governing council meeting. The

assessment calls for immediate actions to address the dangers of mercury,

including " launching talks for a legally binding treaty, " and " reducing risks by

reducing or eliminating the production and consumption of mercury. "

In the short term, the working group recommended establishing a non-binding

global program of action, and strengthening cooperation among governments to

share information about mercury risks. The working group called for more

outreach to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, additional technical and

financial support for developing countries, and increased funding for research,

monitoring and data collection on the health and environmental aspects of

mercury and on environmentally friendly alternatives to mercury.

" These recommendations from the scientists and experts are the first essential

step on the road to reducing and one day eliminating the environmental and

health risks of mercury, " said UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer after

September's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. " Now it is up to the politicians and

policy makers to decide just where we go from here. "

Mercury is a toxic chemical that can affect the nervous system, kidneys and

liver, and cause developmental problems in both humans and wildlife. Because it

circulates through water systems and the atmosphere and accumulates in body fat,

every human being on earth has some trace amounts of mercury in his or her body.

Incinerators like this one in Chicago, Illinois can release mercury from

medical waste and other sources (Photo courtesy Lake Michigan Federation)Over

the past century, concentrations of mercury in the atmosphere and ocean

increased three-fold. The Food and Drug Administration and 41 states warn

consumers to limit or not eat certain fish due to mercury contamination, and 10

states advise pregnant women and children to limit consumption of canned tuna,

the most widely consumed fish in the U.S.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control indicates that one in 12 women of

childbearing age have unsafe mercury levels in their bodies, translating into

more than 300,000 children born each year in the U.S. at risk of exposure to

mercury.

" There was real progress made at the September UNEP Work Group meeting in

Geneva, with the U.S. agreeing that mercury was a serious global pollutant

warranting international action, " said Michael Bender, spokesperson for the

nonprofit Ban Mercury Work Group (BMWG), which released the leaked document to

the press.

" This latest position more reflects the domestic 'holding pattern' mercury

policies of the Bush administration, " he added. Bender, director of the Mercury

Policy Project, will represent the BMWG, a coalition of 28 nonprofit groups from

around the world, at the talks in Nairobi, scheduled to be held February 3-7.

Bender said he suspects that the Bush administration opposes more binding action

on mercury because mandatory cuts in mercury emissions would heavily impact coal

fired power plants, the largest human source of mercury.

" For the largest anthropogenic source of mercury, coal fired power plants,

mercury emissions are just a small part of a much broader air pollution problem

that many nations need to confront, " the document states.

Worker checks the main coal fired furnace at Niagara Mohawk's Dunkirk steam

station in New York. Burning coal for power produces emissions laced with

mercury. (Photo by David Parsons courtesy NREL)While the UNEP mercury working

group also " emphasized that it was not necessary to have full consensus or

complete evidence in order to take action " on mercury, the U.S. position could

have a major impact on the final recommendations of the Governing Council. The

U.S. will go to the talks prepared to put pressure on nations and groups that

disagree with the U.S. position, including the European Union.

In December, the European Union issued its formal position heading into

February's talks, recommending " that the Member States support and actively work

for concrete international actions to be initiated on mercury and its compounds,

for instance a legally binding instrument … and that global assessment of other

heavy metals such as lead and cadmium shall commence. "

The leaked U.S. government document recommends that negotiators " oppose

assessment of other heavy metals " that contaminate the environment, such as

nickel and cadmium. The document calls on the U.S. delegation to put the

European Union " on the defensive " by drawing attention to European nations that

still mine mercury, including Algeria, Kyrgystan and Spain.

" Mercury is a toxic time bomb that must be defused by taking concrete steps,

like those outlined in the EU position and in the declaration of the Latin

American and Caribbean countries (GRULAC) in Geneva in September, " said BMWG

spokesperson Bender. " We applaud the GRULAC declaration - which was supported by

Denmark, Norway and Sweden - stating that a binding international treaty on

mercury should be created. "

The U.S. will face opposition not only from other nations, but also on the home

front.

Last month, the Environmental Council of the States, an organization made up of

top state government environmental officials across the U.S., recommended that

the federal government support developing, within six years, a binding

international agreement on mercury " to implement a comprehensive global mercury

action plan to reduce and where feasible eliminate mercury releases, uses and

mining. "

Any international agreement should also address " global mercury commodity

trading, storage, and disposal, " the council argued.

Karen Studders, former commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

(Photo courtesy MPCA) " It is clear to states seeking to reduce the risks of

mercury pollution to humans and wildlife that this issue must be addressed

internationally, " wrote Karen Studders, former commissioner of the Minnesota

Pollution Control Agency, in a December letter to Jeff Lunstead, director of the

Office of Environmental Policy at the State Department. Studders is co-chair of

the Quicksilver Caucus/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mercury Stewardship

Work Group.

While federal, state, local and corporate efforts to address mercury have

produced improvments, Studders noted, " we can't significantly reduce mercury

contamination of fish without reductions worldwide owing to the large

contribution of international sources to mercury deposited in the states. "

Recent research has shown that mercury is often deposited in rainwater and dust

carried from sources hundreds or thousands of miles away. Two studies released

in March 2002 show that mercury generated by fossil fuel burning power plants is

falling from the sky in Antarctica and in the Arctic, and is entering the food

chain.

The Ban Mercury Work Group is urging the United States to stick to earlier

pledges to remain open to future treaty talks on global mercury issues.

Swordfish contain some of the highest levels of methylmercury found in fish.

(Photo courtesy World Wide Fund for Nature) " The U.S. agreed in Geneva that

mercury is a serious worldwide pollutant that warrants international action, "

Bender said. " But out of the other side of their mouth, they're saying they

don't want to do anything about it. "

" This is reflective of a lack of experience, and perhaps a lack of sincerity to

really solve the problem, " added Bender. " We recognize that [a binding treaty]

is a significant investment of time and money, but what choice do we have if

we're going to solve this problem? "

For more information on the upcoming UNEP Governing Council talks on mercury,

visit: http://www.chem.unep.ch/mercury

 

 

 

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Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2003.

 

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