Gorham, Maine — A new scientific report, Global Mercury Hotspots, finds that humans and marine ecosystems around the world are contaminated with mercury and that mercury levels in humans and fish regularly exceed health advisory guidelines.
Statement on Minamata and the Mercury Treaty from Ryukou Sakamoto, Director, Minamata Disease Citizen’s Group, and Hideki Sato, Director, Minamata Disease Victims’ Mutual Aid Society.
A survey of mercury content in the hair of delegates at the first UN negotiating meeting for a global treaty on mercury.
At the 1st International Negotiating Committee (INC1) for a Global Treaty on Mercury, negotiators from 40 countries were tested by IPEN and SSNC, and mercury levels between 93 ug/kg and 2956 ug/kg were found in their hair samples. More than one-third of the samples exceeded the US National Research Council mercury reference dose of 1000 ug/kg.
In 2009, governments of the world agreed to start negotiations on a global mercury treaty with the goal of finishing by 2013. After consultations and input from NGOs in all regions of the world, IPEN adopted its “Views on a Global Mercury Treaty” policy statement, which explains why a global treaty on mercury is needed and puts forward a civil society vision for the treaty.
