Environment: Sweden Urges International Ban on Mercury

A UN meeting over mercury pollution will see Sweden push for an international ban on mercury, an extension of the ban currently in place in the Nordic country.

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC2) meets in Chiba, Japan on 24-28 January 2011. The first session was held in Stockholm in June 2010.

Sweden’s Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren said:

“Sweden’s fundamental position is that the use of mercury in products should be prohibited. However, it is not realistic to believe that the negotiations will progress that far as things stand now. There is no agreement on this line in the EU.

“Despite efforts to limit the use and emissions of mercury, there is still extensive deposition over Sweden. This is mainly due to long-distance air transfer from other parts of Europe, but also from other continents. A key issue in the ongoing negotiations is to persuade India and China to agree to adequate commitments,”

Sweden’s ban means that alternative techniques must be used in dental care, chemical analysis and the chlor-alkali industry, which all have traditionally used mercury.

The INC has a mandate to try to negotiate a convention that takes all sources of emissions into account, both in the mercury life cycle from mining to final disposal and when mercury is released through the burning of coal in power plants and industry.

The largest source of global mercury emissions to air is the burning of coal. The question of regulating mercury emissions to air from coal-fired power plants and industry will be addressed for the first time at INC2.


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3 thoughts on “Environment: Sweden Urges International Ban on Mercury”

  1. Often the foundation for mercury hypersensitivity may be laid down before birth. Many people are not aware of this. Mercury is passed from the mother to the fetus
    within the first month of pregnancy. This was proven by the research of Drs.
    Murray Vimy and Fritz Lorscheider in their experiments with installing radio-active mercury dental fillings in the mouths of pregnant sheep and later in a pregnant
    monkey. The mercury shortly appears in the fetus’ brain, kidneys, and liver. A study by another researcher, Dr.Tejning found that the concentration of Methyl
    Mercury in fetal blood was about 20% higher than that of the mother. Mercury has not place in dentistry .

    Reply
  2. Mercury is a known neurotoxin which continues to be placed into teeth in close
    proximity to the brain. Then dentists place other metals in with it causing “oral
    galvanism” – electricity which damages the person’s electrical system. The result is maiming if not death. Medical doctors are not educated about the subject so these patients are written off as “wacos” & few people listen to
    the realities of those who survive this malady.
    It’s time to ban dental mercury and regulate businesses who are releasing it into the environment – dental offices & crematoriums.

    Reply
  3. Activists, dentists, physicians, scientists, attorneys, consumer groups, and poisoned dental consumers are also pushing for dental mercury to be included in the ban on mercury.

    Dentists using amalgam fillings (50% mercury) are one of the leading contributors to the poisoining of city waste water which is then released back into streams, or if cleaned remains in sludge. Sludge is then used in agriculture and mercury is recirculated again into the food supply.

    Dental mercury must stop for the sake of the environment as well as for the sake of those who have been poisoned by the placement and removal of “silver” fillings which results in their not being able to work, people going on disability, people becoming finacially wiped out from dental and medical bills.

    Reply

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