2013-01-21 U.N. clinches global deal on cutting mercury emissions, Reuters

Country: SWITZERLAND
Author: Tom Miles and Emma Farge

More than 140 countries have agreed on the first global treaty to cut mercury pollution through a blacklist of household items and new controls on power plants and small-scale mines, the United Nations said on Saturday.

The legally-binding agreement aims to phase out many products that use the toxic liquid metal such as batteries, thermometers and some fluorescent lamps, through banning global import and exports by 2020.

The treaty will require countries with coal-fired power plants such as India and China to install filters and scrubbers on new plants and to commit to reducing emissions from existing operations to prevent mercury from coal reaching the atmosphere.

“We have closed a chapter on a journey that has taken four years of often intense but ultimately successful negotiations and opened a new chapter towards a sustainable future,” said Fernando Lugris, chair of the negotiations.

The deal also includes measures to reduce mercury use in small-scale gold mining, although stopped short of an all-out ban. Gold prices near $1,700 a metric ton have spurred the use of mercury as a catalyst to separate gold from its ore.

Emissions of mercury from artisanal and small-scale gold mines, which are usually unofficial and often illegal, more than doubled to 727 metric tons in 2010 from 2005 levels, overtaking coal-fired power plants as the main source of pollution from the metal.

The Minamata Convention on Mercury – named after the Japanese city where people were poisoned in the mid-20th century from industrial discharges of mercury – needs ratification from 50 countries and is expected to be formalized later this year.

The treaty requires governments to draw up national rules to comply and could take between three to five years to take effect.

As mercury, also known as quicksilver, is released to the air or washed into rivers and oceans, it spreads worldwide, and builds up in humans mostly through consumption of fish. The brains of fetuses and infants are particularly vulnerable to damage from mercury.

Officials said the financing required to bring in cleaner technology for industry and help developing countries come up with local solutions was one of the major sticking points of the six-day negotiations.

“Financing was agreed very early this morning and it was one of the most difficult aspects,” said Lugris.

Japan, Norway and Switzerland have made initial pledges totaling $3 million in financing and an interim financial arrangement will be discussed in April by the Global Environment Facility, said Tim Kasten, head of the chemicals branch of UNEP.

Countries failed to agree on including vaccines where mercury is sometimes used as a preservative.

SOFT LANGUAGE?

While negotiators celebrated the deal reached after all-night talks in the fifth and final round of talks, the response from some non-governmental organizations (NGO) was more muted.

“The treaty will not bring immediate reductions of mercury emissions. It will need to be improved and strengthened, to make all fish safe to eat,” said David Lennett from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

NGO IPEN, which aims to reduce the health risk of chemicals, described the language of the treaty as “soft” and “somewhat voluntary in nature” and said it was unlikely to result in a global reduction of mercury releases.

“Countries that do not want to do this can escape quite easily,” said IPEN’s Joe DiGangi.

In one notable climbdown, countries abandoned their goal of setting concrete targets for pollution levels from coal-fired power plants and cement factories, but negotiators said they would defer these discussions to a later meeting.

For mining, the treaty requires action from governments to reduce mercury use where artisanal and small-scale gold mining is “more than insignificant” but has no list of countries.

Alternatives to mercury in small mines are available, such as magnetic sluices, but developing countries have complained about the cost of implementation.

Many developing countries including Brazil and Mali strongly resisted attempts to limit imports of mercury, according to IPEN, because of the economic importance of small mines.

“The supply is still available, the practice of artisanal mining is still polluting and we are left with a mess at the end and there is no funding to clean it up,” said DiGangi.

Artisanal and small gold mines now account for around 35 percent of global mercury pollution, according to a study by the U.N. Environment Programme published last week.

Other NGOs welcomed the number of products included in the treaty.

“The list of products was much longer than we expected,” said Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, a coordinator at Zero Mercury Working Group. “The treaty sends the right market signal and will eventually lead to less exposure worldwide.”

Many nations have already tightened laws – the United States barred exports of mercury from January 1, 2013. The European Union, until 2008 the main global exporter, barred exports of the liquid metal in 2011.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Tom Miles; Editing by Sophie Hares)

© Thomson Reuters 2013 All rights reserved

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COMPARE THE FOLLOWING TWO NEWS REPORTS:

• #3 is based on the public interest.
• #4 shields the industry interest in using mercury fillings.  Statements such as “it (dental amalgam)  only accounts for about 8% of the overall use of mercury, said Dr. Fox.”  are misleading because mercury fillings are the single largest source of mercury that people with them will ever experience.  You will see through other statements as well.

3.  NEWS ARTICLE: U.N. Calls For Global Phase Down Of Mercury Fillings

U.N. Calls For Global Phase Down Of Mercury Fillings

http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=574360&Itemid=54

Saturday, 26 January 2013

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), a scientific dental organization, is unveiling an educational technical program to assist interested nations in facilitating a UN global treaty’s requirement to phase-down use of dental amalgam fillings.IAOMT delegates, other NGO’s and 137 countries participated in the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, where, on January 19, these nations formalized a legally-binding treaty to reduce global use of dental amalgam, a restorative tooth filling material containing 50% mercury. The IAOMT committed its membership to provide technical dental assistance to all nations, particularly developing countries and those in transition. The Academy’s program will include educational workshops and hands-on support to dental professionals worldwide in order to achieve a viable transition from dental amalgam to safer alternatives. Meanwhile, countries around the world have applauded INC5 for acknowledging that mercury from all sources must be diminished and then eliminated to protect human health and the environment. Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director explained, “Mercury, which exists in various forms, remains a major global, regional and national challenge in terms of threats to human health and the environment.” The Australian Dental Industry Association supported the treaty’s movement away from mercury fillings, and noted, “There was widespread acceptance that dental amalgam is a major source of mercury pollution, particularly in waterways. “While officials in Pakistan called for a mercury-free country, Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Director General Asif Shuja Khan, highlighted the final round of UN negotiations as “our world’s last chance” to take strong action on reducing mercury trade and use. The East African Dental Amalgam Phase-down (EADAP) Project assisted by WHO’s Oral Health Programme has realized the increased importance of alternative non-mercury dental restoratives. WHO’s Mercury Policy Report confirmed that mercury contained in dental amalgam is the greatest source of human exposure to mercury in non-industrial settings. Continuous emissions of mercury vapors from amalgam fillings placed in millions of mouths worldwide causes damage to the kidney, liver, and brain and has been linked to infertility. Mercury is particularly harmful to the nervous system of developing fetuses and young children. (See INC5 Bulletin) Despite the treaty’s call to phase-down dental amalgam together with a plethora of scientific research demonstrating the damaging effects of dental mercury to humans and the environment, the American Dental Association continues to promote mercury amalgams as safe. Conversely, risk assessments conducted in 2010 and 2012 by Dr. Mark Richardson identified toxic levels of mercury released from dental amalgam, a 2012 Yale University study evidenced the dangers of occupational mercury exposure, and recent studies reaffirm harm to children inflicted by dental mercury. Considering the documented potential harmful effects of mercury amalgams, IAOMT strove for more stringent regulations, such as mandatory special protection for indigenous peoples, pregnant women, and children. However, Pierre LaRose, DDS, a meeting attendee on behalf of IAOMT, valued the international recognition of the health and environmental hazards of mercury in dentistry as “a major victory.” David Simone, DDS, who also attended the conference, explained the impetus for IAOMT’s new program, “In view of the treaty’s phase down language, IAOMT has planned and implemented a specially-designed, mercury-safe ‘Technical Dental Assistance Program’ for all member nations.” IAOMT’s program offers six hands-on steps toward ending dental mercury use. The program will be available at next year’s UN Treaty meeting. Nations interested in learning about the program now are invited to contact the IAOMT.

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4.  NEWS ARTICLE: UN Treaty Calls for Dental Amalgam Reduction, Medscape

UN Treaty Calls for Dental Amalgam Reduction

Laird Harrison

Jan 25, 2013

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/778273

An international treaty drafted earlier this month calls for phasing out dental amalgam to reduce mercury pollution.

The Minamata Convention, negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), sets a deadline for banning the manufacture, import, and export of several categories of products containing mercury, such as batteries, light bulbs, and cosmetics, by 2020.

However, it excludes dental amalgam from this list, instead laying out measures that should be used to reduce its use. It does not set a timetable and leaves much to the discretion of individual countries.

“We were very happy in the end,” Christopher Fox, DMD, DMSc, executive director of the International & American Associations for Dental Research (IADR), told Medscape Medical News. “We were very pleased that they gave deference to science-based policy.”

Although the text has not been finalized, participants from 137 countries agreed in principle to the draft document on January 19. Individual countries must ratify the treaty before it becomes legally binding, Dr. Fox said.

The final report will be adopted and opened for signature in a conference held this October in Kumamoto/Minimata, Japan.

Goals for Amalgam 

The draft document has not been released to the public, but Dr. Fox verified the accuracy of a January 21 report on it published in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, which is put out by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a nonprofit environmental group based in Winnipeg, Canada.

According to that report, the signatories must agree to take at least 2 of the following steps, subject to their individual circumstances:

•  setting national objectives aiming at dental caries prevention and health promotion, thereby minimizing the need for dental restoration;

•  setting national objectives aiming at minimizing the use of dental amalgam;

•  promoting the use of cost-effective and clinically effective mercury-free alternatives for dental restoration;

•  promoting research and development of quality mercury-free materials for dental restoration;

•  encouraging representative professional organizations and dental schools to educate and train dental professionals and students on the use of mercury-free dental restoration alternatives and on promoting best management practices;

•  discouraging insurance policies and programs that favor dental amalgam use over mercury-free dental restoration;

•  encouraging insurance policies and programs that favor the use of quality alternatives to dental amalgam for dental restoration;

•  restricting the use of dental amalgam to its encapsulated form; and

•  promoting the use of best environmental practices in dental facilities to reduce releases of mercury and mercury compounds to water and land.

 

The report in the Earth Negotiations Bulletin called the negotiations on dental amalgam “divisive,” with Switzerland and Norway pushing for an outright ban on the substance. Some groups claimed that it harms patients and professionals when used in fillings, and others argued that it is a safe and effective way to treat cavities. Participants also clashed about the viability of alternatives, according to the report.

The American Dental Association participated through the World Dental Federation and added its voice to those arguing that there should be no timetable for phasing out dental amalgam.

The World Dental Federation, World Health Organization, and IADR argued that the best way to phase out amalgam is to reduce the need for it by promoting oral health. “We need an increased emphasis on prevention,” said Dr. Fox. “The best dental restoration is no dental restoration.”

Beyond that, the IADR called for more resources to develop alternative dental materials. In a December meeting, the IADR, World Health Organization, UNEP, and other international groups noted concerns about health hazards from bisphenol A in composite resins as a reason giving urgency to the search for alternatives.

Dental amalgam was not the major focus of the January UNEP meeting; it only accounts for about 8% of the overall use of mercury, said Dr. Fox.

Cremation of patients with amalgam restorations causes about 1% to 2% of mercury air pollution, he said. A bigger concern is mercury in wastewater from dental operatories, and Dr. Fox speculated that the treaty might push the US Environmental Protection Agency toward requiring amalgam separators.

“We also recognize that we do have a responsibility to the environment,” Daniel M. Meyer, DDS, senior vice president for science/professional affairs at the American Dental Association, told Medscape Medical News. “The House of Delegates passed a resolution to work with the [Environmental Protection Agency] to establish appropriate regulations.”

The Minamata Convention derives its name from a Japanese city devastated by mercury pollution.

Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to Prepare a Global Legally Binding Instrument on Mercury, January 13-19, 2013. Geneva, Switzerland.