Global and regional trends in mercury emissions and concentrations, 2010–2015

Journal Article · Wed Dec 26 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Atmospheric Environment (1994)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.12.031· OSTI ID:1493913

Streets, David G. ^[1]; Horowitz, Hannah M. ^[2]; Lu, Zifeng ^[1]; Levin, Leonard ^[3]; Thackray, Colin P. ^[4]; Sunderland, Elsie M. ^[5]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Energy Systems Division
2. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
3. Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States)
4. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
5. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Harvard Univ., Boston, MA (United States). Dept. of Environmental Health. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust. It can be harmful to human health when released in large quantities and/or converted to the neurotoxicant methyl mercury in aquatic ecosystems. This study analyzes here global and regional trends in anthropogenic Hg releases to the atmosphere between 2010 and 2015, as well as the associated trends in modeled and measured Hg concentrations at sites around the world. In general, we find that global Hg emissions and concentrations have grown slightly in this period, as declines from the phase-out of commercial Hg use in the developed world have been more than matched by increases in Hg-related activities in the industrializing countries of the world. We estimate that global Hg emissions between 2010 and 2015 have grown at a rate of 1.8%/yr, from 2188 Mg (+44%/-20%, 80% C.I.) in 2010 to 2390 Mg (+42%/-19%, 80% C.I.) in 2015. Regionally, emissions declined over this period in the U.S. (-10%), OECD Europe (-5.8%), and Canada (-3.2%), while they increased in Central America (+5.4%), South Asia (+4.6%), and Eastern Africa (+4.0%). East Asia remained the largest emitting region at 1012 Mg in 2015, though growth there has slowed significantly in recent years. The production of Hg (+7.9%), caustic soda (+6.3%), and cement (+6.3%) showed the highest increases by source type, though artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) was the single largest source of emissions in 2015 (775 Mg). The commercial use of Hg in dental applications (-5.6%) and electrical equipment (-5.2%) continued to decline. These emission trends show a continuation of the regional and sectoral shifts that began in the 1970s, but with a resulting reversal in global trends, because the benefits from Hg phase-out in North America and Europe have been largely realized and industrial growth in developing countries has begun to dominate. The emission trends are in agreement with trends in modeled and measured concentrations, which show small declines in surface air total gaseous Hg concentrations in eastern North America and Western Europe between 2010 and 2015, but slight increases for much of the rest of the world, driven by the continued increases in emissions from Asia and from ASGM. Our results suggest that reductions of Hg in the North Atlantic region have been largely successful, and focus now needs to shift to Asia and to the continued practice of ASGM worldwide.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI), Palo Alto, CA (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Electric Power Research Inst. (EPRI) (United States); USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1493913
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1637018
• Journal Information: Atmospheric Environment (1994), Journal Name: Atmospheric Environment (1994) Vol. 201; ISSN 1352-2310
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Minamata Convention
concentration trends
emission trends
mercury
small-scale gold mining
source contributions