Will the international convention help in preventing Elbe and Ohre rivers from mercury contamination?

 Companies Spolana Neratovice and Spolchemie in Usti nad Labem, but also, for example, reservoir Skalka near Cheb, rank among places most contaminated by mercury, on global scale. This is stated in the newest global study of NGO network IPEN (1), mapping the so-called mercury hotspots. In sites in various places of the world, included in the global study, mercury levels in bodies of fish, but also people, exceeded the public health limits. Of 16 fish caught for the study in Czech Elbe, 14 samples (88 %) were not in compliance with the reference value of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2), and three exceeded the standard valid in the EU (see the attached table).

The study Global Mercury Hotspots states that it will be necessary to reduce overall mercury emissions into the environment as much as possible, but also to limit its use radically. This should be ensured by the new international convention on mercury (3), and the study points out at drawbacks seen by the non-governmental organisations in the present convention proposal. Next week, representatives of nearly two hundred states from all over the world will be negotiating the convention in Geneva on intergovernmental level. This will be the last round of negotiations, and the Czech non-governmental organisation Arnika participates in organising it.

Summary of the situation in the Czech Republic is available at
http://arnika.org/soubory/dokumenty/toxicke-latky/Rtut/2012_RtutBRIP-IPEN_cz.pdf

The Report on the Situation in the Czech Republic was drawn up by the Arnika Association. "The global report clearly shows that it will be essential to reduce the overall mercury emissions into the air, soil, and water. However, the world will get rid of mercury in the environment, and, particularly, in fish, only after contaminated places will have been cleaned, gold mining using mercury will have been abandoned, etc. For example, high mercury levels in the reservoir Skalka are a consequence of contamination of one of the Ohre river tributaries. It runs from Germany, and flows by Marktredwitz where mercury compounds have been manufactured for about two centuries," stated the head of the Toxics and Waste Programme, and co-author of the study, RNDr. Jindrich Petrlik from the Arnika Association.

Arnika is allowed to publish the essential conclusions of the complex report only after official presentation of the whole text in the USA, i.e. at about 3 pm of the Central-European time.

The most serious hotspot in the Czech Republic is located in Neratovice in the Central Bohemia, where the company Spolana manufactures chlorine using an outdated amalgam electrolysis method. In addition to continuous emissions of the toxic metal into the environment, also an old environmental burden is present in the premises of the company - an electrolysis plant, closed down already, with high mercury contamination. Even now, Spolana releases over a hundred kilograms of toxic mercury into the environment annually. Arnika put through the obligation for Spolana to modernize its production by the end of 2014, however, the chemical plant has been trying to postpone the deadline till 2020 (4), what is contrary to the valid documents. "The result of the negotiations in Geneva will be also a signal for the Czech authorities when deciding on the application of Spolana Neratovice, seeking to prolong mercury utilisation in chlorine manufacturing. Fish samples taken downstream of the company Spolana showed the highest mercury concentrations of all the fresh water fish analysed in the IPEN study. The concentrations exceeded even the ones of fish from Volgograd in Russia, and Tha Tum in Thailand, also highly burdened," added J. Petrlik.

Another hotspot in the Czech Republic is chlorine manufacture using mercury in the company Spolek pro chemickou a hutni vyrobu, i.e., Spolchemie, in Usti nad Labem. The Spolchemie plant is located approximately 500 m from the centre of the city Usti nad Labem, having a hundred thousand inhabitants. Manufacturing of poisonous chlorine has been based on the so-called amalgam electrolysis method for more than 70 years already. Because of that, tens of kilograms of toxic mercury enter the environment each year, unnecessarily. However, Spolchemie has, at least, started a process in the end of which it will manufacture chlorine using a more environmentally friendly technology. Arnika's pressure contributed to this decision considerably. "Fish in Elbe, downstream of Spolchemie, showed lower mercury concentrations, however, they would not be recommended for human consumption in the USA, either," stated Mgr. Jan Samanek who has participated in the research.

Nevertheless, the both places will continue to be mercury contaminated many years after the end of the manufacturing.

The report issued by the Arnika Association formed part of a bigger project carried out under expert guidance of scientists from the Biodivesity Research Institute (5), and the international network of non-governmental organisations IPEN. The document Global Mercury Hotspots combines new data on mercury concentrations in fish and human hair from tens of places all over the world. Simultaneously, it is the first document identifying a list of global biological "hotspots" with increased mercury concentrations, representing serious danger for human health, as well as for ecosystems.

 "Mercury concentrations often exceed safe limits in samples of fish, but also of human hair, from all over the world. This is true also for the Czech Republic," stated J. Samanek further. "The results show that there is a need of a global treaty on mercury, ordering a real and resolute reduction of mercury emissions not only into the air, but also into water and soil, and, simultaneously, prohibiting further mercury use. Mercury is a serious global threat to human health, requiring ambitious global response," added J. Samanek.

Final negotiations on the mercury treaty will be held from January 13 to January 18, 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland.

 The dangers of mercury poisoning have been known for centuries. Exposure to high levels of mercury can permanently damage the brain and kidneys. Moreover, mercury toxic effects pass from a mother to her developing foetus, and can result in brain damage, mental retardation, blindness, convulsions, and inability to speak.

Table: Mercury content in fish sampled in the Elbe river in three localities: Obristvi, Valtirov, and Decin, downstream of chlorine chemistry plants.

Abbreviations: Hg, mercury; ppm, parts per million or mg/kg; ww, wet weight; min, minimum; max, maximum

Notes:

(1) IPEN (International POPs Elimination Network) – An international network for elimination of persistent organic pollutants associates over 700 NGOs, dealing, in particular, with toxic substances in the environment, from over 100 countries of the world. The Arnika Association hosts several coordination centres of this network (for the Central and Eastern Europe; Dioxin, PCBs and Waste Working Group; and Heavy Metals Working Group). http://www.ipen.org

(2) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (abbreviated EPA or USEPA) is an agency coming  under the Federal Government of the USA, in charge of protection of human health and the environment; air, water, and soil. The EPA started operation on December 2, 1970, after being established by the president of the USA Richard Nixon. Currently, it has ca 17 thousand employees, 10 regional offices and 27 laboratories. http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/

(3) Details on the international convention on mercury are available at

https://arnika.org/toxicke-latky/nase-temata/zakony-a-umluvy/minamatska-umluva

(4) For further details, please see the press release Spolana wants to use toxic mercury in chlorine manufacturing for further six years, dated October 16, 2012

http://arnika.org/toxickou-rtut-pri-vyrobe-chloru-chce-spolana-pouzivat-dalsich-sest-let

(5) Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) - The mission of the American Biodiversity Research Institute is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through collaborative research, to inform decision makers on its findings, and to present scientific knowledge on the environment to the public. https://briwildlife.org/