21/5    Mercury assessment

The Governing Council,

Having considered the status report of the Executive Director regarding the work of the United Nations Environment Programme Chemicals Unit in the past biennium,

Noting with appreciation the accomplishment of the Executive Director in the chemicals management area,

Recalling the Barrow Declaration on the occasion of the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, in which the Council noted that releases of mercury have harmful effects on human health and may damage ecosystems of environmental and economic importance, and called upon the United Nations Environment Programme to initiate a global assessment of mercury that could form the basis for appropriate international action in which the Arctic States would participate actively,

Recognizing that scientific studies have established that mercury cycles globally,

Noting the decision taken at the eighteenth session of the Executive Body for the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (November-December 2000), arising from the concern of delegates about mercury as a global pollutant, to invite the United Nations Environment Programme to initiate an assessment of mercury and to consider future action,

Mindful of the precautionary approach as set forth in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and underlining the need to take preventive action to protect human health and environment,

          1.          Invites the Executive Director, in cooperation with other members of the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals, to initiate an expeditious, open, transparent and inclusive process that includes contributions from Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector to undertake a global assessment of mercury and its compounds to be presented to the Governing Council at its session in 2003, which will include the following elements:

(a)            To summarize existing information including recent authoritative reviews of the chemistry, including transformation and methylation processes, toxicology, and impacts of mercury on human health and the environment;

 

(b)            To compile and summarize existing information concerning the global natural and anthropogenic sources of mercury;

 

(c)            To consolidate and analyse information regarding relevant environmental long-range transport and the origin, pathways, deposition and transformation of these substances on a global scale;

 

(d)            To examine and describe the sources of release of mercury to the environment, and the current production and use patterns of mercury as a global commodity;

 

(e)            To compile and summarize information about prevention and control technologies and practices, and their associated costs and effectiveness, that could reduce and/or eliminate releases of mercury, including the use of suitable substitutes, where applicable;

 

(f)              To describe ongoing actions and compile information about future plans at the national, subregional or regional levels for controlling releases, and limiting use and exposures, including waste management practices;

 

(g)            To outline options for consideration at the twenty-second sesison of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum addressing any significant global adverse impacts of mercury, inter alia, by reducing and or eliminating the use, emissions, discharges and losses of mercury and its compounds; improving international cooperation; and ways to enhance risk communication;

 

(h)            To provide, for elements (a) through (f), a summary description of scientific and technical information needs and data gaps;

2.          Requests the Executive Director to report on the results of the assessment to the Governing Council at its twenty-second session, and agrees to consider whether there is a need for assessments of other heavy metals of possible global concern at that session.