This report summarises a comprehensive project report by NGO Arnika Association that can be accessed at http://english.arnika.org/. The project investigates the status of mercury pollution in and around industrial facilities in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region that are intentionally using mercury in their manufacturing processes (such as chlor-alkali plants).
Ecological Restorations has completed a highly successful awareness-raising and public education project aimed at furthering stakeholder knowledge of the human health and environmental impacts of mercury. This is especially relevant in Ghana where artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) involves mercury use, resulting in the release of many tonnes of mercury to the environment in recent years.
The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental watchdog group promoting chemical safety and zero waste, conducted a market investigation between November 2014 and February 2015 to determine the availability of mercury-containing skin whitening products, particularly facial creams, in the Philippines. EcoWaste Coalition procured 355 samples of skin whitening creams from various retailers in 50 cities across the archipelago and had them analyzed for mercury content using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device.
In its work to leverage the Minamata Convention on Mercury (the Mercury Treaty) for on-the-ground change to reduce mercury pollution, IPEN launched its International Mercury Treaty Enabling Activities Program (IMEAP) in 2014. The IMEAP program includes:
