Users’ ManualTraining package for mercury flow
analysis to identify and monitor
national mercury situation in its
entire life cycle

Ver. 1.1

© 2023 United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Reproduction: This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or nonprofit services without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source
is made. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Nations Institute for Training andResearch (UNITAR) would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this material as a source.
No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without
prior permission in writing from UNEP and UNITAR. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the
purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Communication Division, United
Nations Environment Programme, P. O. Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply
the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Environment Programme or United
Nations Institute for Training and Research concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area orof its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Mention of a commercial company or product in this document does not imply endorsement by the UNEP,UNITAR, or the authors. The use of information from this document for publicity or advertising is not permitted.
Trademark names and symbols are used in an editorial fashion with no intention on infringement of trademark
or copyright laws. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of theUnited Nations Environment Programme or United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
© Photos and illustrations as specified.
Suggested citation: United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Institute for Training andResearch (2023). Training package for mercury flow analysis to identify and monitor national mercury situationin its entire life cycle, Users’ manual, version 1.1, Bangkok: UNEP.
Production: Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific | United Nations Environment Programme | UN Building |Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Email: japanmercuryproject@un.org

Users’ ManualTraining package for mercury flow
analysis to identify and monitor
national mercury situation in its
entire life cycle

Ver. 1.1

Acknowledgements: UNEP ROAP wishes to thank all individuals and organizations that have contributed theirexpertise, time, and energy to this work, in particular Jakob Maag (United Nations Institute for Training andResearch UNITAR) and Osamu Sakamoto (EX Research Institute EXRI) who provided the wealth of knowledge
and experiences for substantive inputs and overall guidance to the structure of the training programme. We
appreciate the information of actual case studies from Carsten Lassen (COWI), Kishor Parajuli (EXRI), andTakashi Nishida (EXRI) that enriches the usefulness of this training package. The majority of the material inthis training package is the reproduction of the online training programme held in January and February 2022.
The administrative and logistical supports by Ester Hermosilla (UNITAR), Rie Araki (EXRI), and Yuki Hashimoto(EXRI) to organize the programme became indispensable guidance in this ‘Users’ Manual’. All participantsfrom Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are also the contributors to this training
package by their active participation and reporting in the online training programme. This training package
was reviewed by Eisaku Toda (Minamata Secretariat), Imelda Etui (UNEP), Kaoru Oka (EXRI), Kenneth Davis(UNEP), Kyaw Nyunt Maung (Environmental Compliance Consultancy ECC), Malgorzata Stylo (UNEP), Osamu
Sakamoto (EXRI), Rie Araki (EXRI), and Stéphanie Laruelle (UNEP). This publication is the culmination of thehard work and dedication of the editorial team led by Yayoi Hayashi (Overseas Environmental Cooperation
Center OECC). Her team, including Reiko Hoshino, Fumi Matsumura, and Kanae Komaki (OECC), worked
tirelessly to create this high-quality product within very tight deadline. Finally, we would like to express our
deep appreciation to the generous support made by Ministry of the Environment of Japan, particularly Hitoshi
Yoshizaki and Itsuki Kuroda under its MOYAI Initiative. With their support, the mercury management capacity
in developing countries will be further strengthened.
Funding: The work to develop the training package including this users’ manual and the annexes has been
funded by Government of Japan.

CONTENTS
Executive summary ................................................................................................................................ vii
1

Background ........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1

Global mercury issues .......................................................................................................... 1

1.2

Context of this training package .......................................................................................... 1

1.3

Development of this training package................................................................................. 22

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 5
2.1

Purpose.................................................................................................................................. 5

2.2

Limitation............................................................................................................................... 6

3

Trainers’ guidance................................................................................................................. 7
3.1

Course design ....................................................................................................................... 7

3.2

Sample concept note .......................................................................................................... 12

3.3

Sample training course....................................................................................................... 14

3.4Group exercises .................................................................................................................. 18

3.5

Pre- and post-training self-test and evaluations ............................................................... 20

4

Supplementary information and literature ........................................................................ 25
4.1

Outlines of the Minamata Convention on Mercury........................................................... 25

4.2

Mass balance and mass flows .......................................................................................... 31

4.3

Emission factors, and input and output distribution factors ........................................... 33

4.4

Customs codes and international trade data ................................................................... 37

4.5

Development of a mercury flow diagram (case in Japan) ............................................... 42

4.6

Survey design and example ............................................................................................... 52

4.7

Example to address uncertainty ........................................................................................ 58

4.8

Report preparation: principles and processes .................................................................. 59

4.9

Physical and chemical properties, usage, and environmental behaviours of mercury . 61

4.10

Reference literatures and websites ................................................................................... 73

4.11

Glossary, acronyms, and abbreviations ............................................................................. 77

5

Editable PowerPoint files ................................................................................................... 79
5.1

List of slide decks ............................................................................................................... 79

5.2

Lecture 1 The Minamata Convention on Mercury ............................................................ 81

5.3

Lecture 2 Mercury issues and how mercury flow analysis can contribute .................... 88

5.4

Lecture 3 Mercury source categories ................................................................................ 96

5.5

Lecture 4 Mass balance principle and examples on the process, sectoral and societal
levels ..................................................................................................................................101

iii

5.6
6

Lecture 5 Steps in mercury mass flow development .....................................................108
List of annexes ..................................................................................................................124iv

TABLES
Table 1 Areas covered by the training package ...................................................................................... 8
Table 2 Advantages and limitations of online and face-to-face programmes ..................................... 9
Table 3 Time zone table when organizing multi-country training ....................................................... 10
Table 4 Article-by-article outlines of the Minamata Convention ......................................................... 26
Table 5 Mercury-added products listed in Annex A.............................................................................. 27
Table 6 Manufacturing processes listed in Annex B ............................................................................ 29
Table 7 Lists of mercury waste falling under paragraph 2 of Article 11 ............................................. 29
Table 8 Preliminary default mercury input factors, by thermometer type .......................................... 34
Table 9 Preliminary default mercury output distribution factors for the use and disposal ofthermometers .................................................................................................................................. 34
Table 10 Default input factors for mercury in coal for energy production in power plants. ............. 35
Table 11 Default output distribution factors for mercury in coal for energy production in power
plants. .............................................................................................................................................. 35
Table 12 HS codes for possible mercury containing product and material ....................................... 37
Table 13 Categories of MMF in Japan .................................................................................................. 42
Table 14 Mercury import as impurities in coal ..................................................................................... 43
Table 15 Coal-fired power generation: Mercury amount in generation, utilization and final disposalof fly ash (FY2016) .......................................................................................................................... 44
Table 16 Coal-fired power generation: Mercury amounts in generation, utilization and final disposalof gypsum (FY2016) ....................................................................................................................... 45
Table 17 Survey results of mercury export and import ........................................................................ 48
Table 18 Amounts of mercury recovered from mercury waste (FY2016) .......................................... 49
Table 19 Amount of mercury in final waste disposal ........................................................................... 50
Table 20 Mercury emissions to the atmosphere .................................................................................. 50
Table 21 Mercury releases to water ...................................................................................................... 51
Table 22 Mercury releases to land ........................................................................................................ 51
Table 23 Information obtained through interview with stakeholders ................................................. 53
Table 24 Mercury recovered from waste mercury-added products (FY2014, actual values) ........... 55
Table 25 Advantages, disadvantages and limitations of different data collection methods ............ 56
Table 26 Example to address uncertainty............................................................................................. 58
Table 27 Indicative structure of mercury flow analysis report ............................................................ 60
Table 28 Physical properties of elemental mercury ............................................................................. 61
Table 29 Exposure pathway, symptom and treatment ......................................................................... 62
Table 30 Applications of elemental mercury ........................................................................................ 65
Table 31 Applications of amalgam........................................................................................................ 68
Table 32 Applications of mercury compounds..................................................................................... 70v

FIGURES
Figure 1 Mass balance for a coal-fired power plant ............................................................................. 31
Figure 2 Global mercury flow in Sankey diagram ................................................................................. 32
Figure 3 Intermediate product of mercury flow analysis ..................................................................... 32
Figure 4 Process example of coal-fired power plant ........................................................................... 45
Figure 5 Process example of non-ferrous metal smelting facility ...................................................... 46
Figure 6 Process example of cement production facility .................................................................... 47
Figure 7 Mercury use for domestically manufactured mercury-added products (FY2016) .............. 48
Figure 8 Data collection by interviewing stakeholders ........................................................................ 53
Figure 9 Molecular similarity of methylmercury-cysteine complex and methionine ......................... 61
Figure 10 Historical mercury supply and use ....................................................................................... 63
Figure 11 Global mercury uses by sector and by region ...................................................................... 64
Figure 12 Global atmospheric mercury emissions by sector and by region ...................................... 72vi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Mercury is a chemical element that has existed on Earth since its creation. Mercury is released fromnatural sources by processes, such as volcanic activity and permafrost melting. In recent years,
more mercury has been released through human activities, such as the combustion of fuels, mining
activities, and the consumption of mercury-added products. Once emitted to the atmosphere,
mercury remains for a long time, and will be transported long distances. Atmospheric mercury is
eventually oxidized, and then deposited in the ocean or on land.
Growing concerns for mercury risks have resulted in the adoption and entry into force of the
Minamata Convention on Mercury (the Convention). The Parties to the Convention are obliged to
inform the Conference of the Parties about the national situation and implementation. For theeffective implementation of the Convention, it is crucial to identify the priority areas from available
data concerning the status of trade, use, emission/release and disposal of mercury at the national
level and to interpret them into domestic policy.
The ‘Training package for mercury flow analysis to identify and monitor national mercury situationin its entire life cycle’ addresses the economic activities, such as mercury trade, production, use(sales), and manufacturing, as well as emissions and releases to the environment. It introduces acomprehensive mass flow concept to outline the national mercury situation throughout its life cycle.
It supports the improvement of national mercury inventories by compiling various types of
information. UNEP has developed the Mercury Inventory Toolkit levels 1 and 2, which have beenused by many countries and stakeholders for developing their emission/release inventories.
The training package is composed of multimedia files, i.e., videos, which provide substantive
information when organizing a training programme. The video material is prepared using Microsoft
PowerPoint with pre-recorded narration embedded in each slide and then grouped by deck in each
topic/subject. This Users’ Manual provides a sample course with full scope that uses the materials
in one consistent programme, but the training package does not need to be used in full. The
organizer can prepare the ‘custom-made’ slide decks for its own training programme. The following
video lectures are annexed to the Users’ Manual:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

The Minamata Convention on Mercury
Mercury issues and how mercury flow analysis can contribute
Mercury source categories
Mass balance principle and examples on process, sectoral and societal level
Steps in mercury mass flow development

vii

The main body of the training package covers the specific skills in step-by-step guides fordeveloping and improving mercury mass flow analyses and the inventories. It also provides generalknowledge on mercury science and its regulatory framework as a foundation and for better
understanding of the issues by the audiences who acquires specific skills through this material.
However, it is not designed to fit all occasions universally. Therefore, when designing a training
programme, the organizer should firstly develop a conceptual idea for a capacity strengthening
activity and consider if any part of this material can benefit the purpose of the activity.
This material provides practical and hands-on information to enable self-study to address needs inan online setting, even under travel restrictions such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists
and practitioners of mercury management at national level is the primary target audiences for thismaterial. It can also be used by lecturers or trainers as teaching material as it has been developedwith customizable multimedia files to fit to their teaching syllabus.
The training programme can be organized in face-to-face, online, or hybrid settings. In each case,the facilitator(s) will run the programme and guide the audiences/participants to certain direction.
Online programmes are an emerging training style which has rapidly developed and expanded in thepast few years. New online platforms and applications have been introduced and become moreversatile. However, this approach has some limitations for developing mercury mass flow in groupsettings. The advantages and limitations of online and face-to-face settings are described in thismaterial.

viii

1 BACKGROUND
1.1 Global mercury issues
Mercury is a chemical element that has existed on Earth since its creation. Mercury is released fromnatural sources by processes, such as volcanic activity and permafrost melting. In recent years,
more mercury has been released through human activities, such as the combustion of fuels, mining
activities, and the consumption of mercury-added products.
Once emitted to the atmosphere, mercury remains for a long time, and will be transported long
distances. Atmospheric mercury is gradually oxidized, and deposited in the ocean or on land. As
mercury levels in the air, ocean and soil are in equilibrium, more legacy mercury is re-emitted to theatmosphere. Some inorganic mercury in water bodies can be methylated by microbial activity, andbioaccumulated in biota at higher trophic levels. Eventually, fishing brings mercury back to humansociety through consumption. Excessive exposure to mercury, especially methylmercury, will poserisks to vulnerable population, particularly pregnant women, as methylmercury actively passes
through placenta barrier by amino acid transporter to fetus.
Due to its environmental behaviours and anthropogenic emissions and releases, growing concerns
about mercury risks have resulted in the adoption and entry into force of the Minamata Convention
on Mercury (the Convention). It is one of the newest multilateral environmental agreements aiming
at protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of
mercury and mercury compounds.
In October 2013, the Diplomatic Conference on the Convention was convened in Kumamoto City inJapan, with a ceremonial opening in Minamata City, to formally adopt the Convention and open it
for signature. It entered into force in August 2017 and the Parties to the Convention must abide by
the provisions stipulated in the Convention text.

1.2 Context of this training package
For the effective implementation of the Convention, it is crucial to identify the priority areas fromavailable data concerning the status of trade, use, emission/release and disposal of mercury at thenational level and to interpret them into domestic policy. The Convention has specific provisions on
the identification of individual stocks of mercury and the development of inventories of mercury
emissions and releases. The Convention also obliges the Parties to report to the Conference of the1

Parties (COP) on the measures taken to implement the Convention. Moreover, the Convention
requires the Parties to cooperate to develop and improve inventories of use, consumption,
emissions, and releases of mercury. The training package introduces a comprehensive mass flow
concept to outline the national mercury situation throughout its life cycle. It supports the
improvement of national mercury inventories by compiling various types of information.
UNEP has developed the Mercury Inventory Toolkit levels 1 and 2, which have been used by many
countries and stakeholders for developing their emission/release inventories. Most of the Minamata
Initial Assessment (MIA) reports use the UNEP Toolkit level 2 although the full application of level 2
is not always possible due to the data limitations. This training package provides guidance on how
to conduct country-specific data collection surveys to improve the accuracy of estimations.
Furthermore, this training package addresses the entire life cycle of mercury flow in society. The
significant difference from the UNEP Toolkit includes economic activities such as mercury trade,
production, use (sales), and manufacturing, as well as emissions and releases to the environment.
National mercury policies and plans will cover not only environmental conservation but also therestrictions of mercury mining, export and import, manufacturing of mercury-added products, phaseout of mercury-using processes, and environmentally sound interim storage. Those areas are notcaptured in the current UNEP Toolkit.
Mercury flow analysis is an extended scope of the mercury inventories, or the inventories are asubset of mercury flow analysis, whichever comes first. The results of mercury inventories that
already exist will be an important feedstock to analyse mercury flow, which can eventually improve
the quality of the inventory data itself by triangulation and cross-checking of different data.

1.3 Development of this training package
UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) is implementing a Japan-funded project called“Project for promoting the Minamata Convention on Mercury by making the most of Japan's
knowledge and experiences1” to support its member states, regardless of the ratification status, for
the implementation of the Convention.

1

The Project specifically focuses on the areas of information exchange (Article 17), awareness andeducation (Article 18), and research, development and monitoring (Article 19) to contribute the early
implementation of the Convention. The comprehensive programme is designed to strengthening theenabling capacity, building on the resources in and around Minamata, and employing technologies held byinstitutions in Japan.

2

Most of the presentation materials were developed along with the online training programmes ofthe project between December 2020 and February 2022. They are primarily developed to support
the project partner countries in Asia and the Pacific, but the content can be applied universallybeyond the geographical regions and sectors. Building on these materials, the training package canbe reconfigured to be relevant to more generic needs so that it can be distributed and made available
globally.
The training package is composed of multimedia files, i.e., videos, which provide substantive
information when organizing a training programme. The video material is prepared using Microsoft
PowerPoint with pre-recorded narration embedded in each slide, then grouped by deck in each
topic/subject. All contents were compiled in the form of ‘Users’ manual’, which includes not only thepresentation videos but also sample training course, pre- and post-training self-test and evaluations,and the background information. This training package enables users to customize their own
training programmes by selecting, adding, or modifying the contents. It can easily integrate any
additional cross-cutting issues such as gender and human rights available in the reference literaturesection.

3

4

2 INTRODUCTION
2.1 Purpose
This document is intended to support the Parties and stakeholders in developing mercury
inventories and using them for planning, implementing, and evaluating measures to reduce theenvironmental and health risks of mercury, based on a mass-balance approach.
The Minamata Convention includes a number of specific measures related to mercury inventories.
Firstly, Article 3 provides for the control of supply and trade of mercury, which includes theidentification of stocks of mercury and sources of mercury generating such stocks. The Conferenceof the Parties (COP) adopted guidance on the identification of such stocks and sources.
Secondly, Article 7 provides for national action plans on artisanal and small-scale gold mining(ASGM), which should include the baseline estimates of the amounts of mercury used in suchmining.
Thirdly, Articles 8 and 9 requires Parties to establish and maintain inventories of mercury emissions
and releases from relevant sources. It should be noted that the emission inventories pursuant to
Article 8 only covers point sources listed in Annex D of the Convention, and the releases inventories
pursuant to Article 9 only cover relevant point sources as identified by the Parties. The COP adopted
guidance on the development of these inventories.
Fourthly, Article 19 provides for cooperation among the Parties on research, development andmonitoring, and the inventories of use, consumption, emissions and releases of mercury, as well as
information on commerce and trade in mercury, are mentioned as specific areas for research anddevelopment.
This document is expected to support the Parties in developing and maintaining inventories as
stipulated in the articles above, as well as in planning, implementing, and evaluating the Convention
implementation measures not related to specific obligations to develop inventories. The document
will also support governments, industry, and other organizations in contributing to the development
and use of such inventories. The existing guidance developed under the Convention, as mentioned
above, has been fully taken into account in the development of this document, so that the inventories
developed using this document can be used to fulfil the specific obligations on inventory.
This material provides practical and hands-on information with multimedia files (video) to enable
their self-study to address their needs in online setting even under the travel restrictions such as
COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists and practitioners of mercury management at the national level are5the primary target audiences for this material. It can also be used by lecturers or trainers as theirteaching material as it is developed with customizable multimedia files to fit to their teachingsyllabus.

2.2 Limitation
Mercury issues are diverse and the needs at each occasion of different countries are significantly
diverse. This training package provides knowledge and skills at an intermediate level within arelatively limited time frame. For further advancement, additional capacity strengthening
programmes should be organized to address specific knowledge and skills which are beyond thescope of this training package.
In addition, this training will not completely replace the face-to-face or hands-on training, which canprovide more comprehensive and intensive capacity strengthening opportunities. This material will
sufficiently cover the flow analysis techniques from introductory to medium levels.

6

3 TRAINERS’ GUIDANCE
3.1 Course design
The needs of capacity strengthening are diverse. Numerous activities have been developed andimplemented by many organizations and individuals. Before developing a training programme, it isessential to recognize its purpose and logical relations with the problem that the training
programme intends to address. The objective, or desired outcome, is the most important motives
for developing a training programme. The needs of the audiences are another important aspect thatshould be appropriately assessed or set as the first step of the programme development. If theaudiences are the internal staff of an organization, the capacity strengthening needs will align with
its short- or long-term strategy and should be systematically addressed. It is recommendable todevelop a concept note that outlines the background, objective, and key arrangement. The concept
note will be shared among stakeholders and discussed when elaborating the training course indetail.
The ‘Training package for mercury flow analysis to identify and monitor national mercury situationin its entire life cycle’ can serve as substantive input to the activities either partially or entirely. The
training package includes the basic concept of mercury mass flow and an initial exercise tofamiliarise with the principles as a basis for developing more comprehensive mass flow.
This material is configured with lectures and supplemental materials on general knowledge andspecific skills (Table 1). The main body of the training package covers the specific skills in step-bystep guides for developing and improving mercury mass flow analyses and the inventories. It also
provides general knowledge on mercury science and its regulatory framework as a foundation andfor better understanding of the issues by the audiences who acquires specific skills through thismaterial. However, it is not designed to fit all occasions universally. Therefore, when designing a
training programme, the organizer should firstly develop conceptual idea for a capacity
strengthening activity and consider if any part of this material can benefit the purpose of the activity.
It is particularly the case for the cross-cutting topics such as gender and human rights, which could
be underlined throughout the programme concept. Key reference literatures are developed by
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (2017), UNEP (2016), and UNEP andMinamata Convention (2021), available online. They will provide the fundamental concept of thehuman-environment interactions in line with the principle of ‘leaving no one behind.’.

7

Table 1 Areas covered by the training package
General knowledge
Science and technology:- Physical and chemical properties,
usage, and environmental behaviour

Regulatory framework:- The Minamata Convention- Harmonized trade customs codes

Specific skill
Mass flow principle:- How mercury inventories and mercury mass flows cancontribute- Mercury source categories- Mass balance principle and examples on process, sectoraland societal level.
Steps to develop mercury mass flow:- Sector definitions, identifying individual flows,quantification of flows- Quantification of stocks, collection of supplementary data,
working with intervals, available online tools and resources- Closing and calibrating the mass balance, identifying andreducing uncertainties, reporting and review

This Users’ manual provides a sample course with full scope that uses the materials in one
consistent programme, but the training package does not need to be used in full. The organizer can
prepare the ‘custom-made’ slide decks from the editable PowerPoint slides of this manual with prerecorded narration, to fit for its own training programme.
It is recommendable to appoint facilitator(s) to run the sessions of the training programme. The
facilitator is not necessarily an expert in mercury flow analysis as the technical details are provided
by the videos in this training package. Nevertheless, it is recommended that (s)he has sufficientunderstanding of the context and purpose of the organizing programme.

Face-to-face or online
The training programme can be organized in face-to-face, online, or hybrid settings. In each case,the facilitator(s) will run the programme and guide the audiences/participants to a certain direction.
Online programmes are an emerging training style which has rapidly developed and expanded in thepast few years. New online platforms and applications have been introduced and become moreversatile. However, this approach has some limitation for developing mercury mass flow in groupsettings. The advantages and limitations of online and face-to-face settings are described in Table
2.

8

Table 2 Advantages and limitations of online and face-to-face programmes
Online programme
Logistical arrangements:- Travel arrangements are not required, travel
costs are saved.
- More people can participate in the programme.

Time management:- Programme date is flexible. Easy to formulate aseries of programmes with certain intervals.
(e.g., split into two parts and insert
intersessional exercise.)- Time zone differences should be considered
carefully.

Face-to-face programme
Logistical arrangements:- In the case of local training, most participants
live nearby and easily come together.
- Field tour, courtesy visit, or other field activities
can improve/broaden the understanding of theissue.
Time management:- Full day programmes are possible to intensify
the programme with a shorter duration.
- More ‘active’ participation is expected rather
than silent listeners.

Facility:- Internet connectivity of each participant might
be different. Connection cost might be high insome countries.
- Applications for online platform such as Webex
or Zoom should be installed in computers orother communication devices. The available
functions vary in different set up.

Facility:- Meeting venue must be secured for the training
programme.
- Demonstrations of instruments may require
dedicated site, room, or facility.

Communications:- Difficult to separate from daily work as theparticipants are physically sitting at theirworking places.

Communications:- Interactive communication is facilitated.
Teambuilding exercised are effective.

Recording and reporting:- Due to the virtual nature, confirmation of theattendance of the participants is challenging.

Recording and reporting:- Photos and products of the training
programmes are more appealing in the activity
report.

Multi-country or one country
If the participants of the training programme come from multiple countries or regions, time zone
difference should be carefully considered. The time zone table indicates the time differences ofmajor cities and possible time setting to cover large geographic areas. Programmes covering a wide
geographical area are efficient to train many participants at once, but time allocation is smaller as
participants staying up to midnight or getting up before dawn may not be well prepared. The timezone table guides the online programme organizers in finding appropriate time arrangement
depending on the geographical coverage of the planned programmes. Unless essential, inviting

9

participant from across the entire globe should be avoided. Two out of three time zones, i.e., Africa,
Asia and America could be targeted at most. Table 3 indicates possible time slot arrangements insuch extreme cases. If the geographical coverage or time difference is smaller, more available time
allocation can be found, which is more comfortable for the participants.

Table 3 Time zone table when organizing multi-country training
Location
Suva (UTC+12)
Tokyo, Koror (UTC+9)
Manila, Kuala Lumpur,
Ulaanbaatar (UTC+8)
Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi(UTC+7)
Yangon (UTC+6:30)
Kathmandu (UTC+5:45)
New Delhi, Colombo(UTC+530)
Male (UTC+5)
Nairobi (UTC+3)
Cape Town (UTC+2)
Vienna, Geneva (UTC+1)
Sao Paulo (UTC-3)
Washington DC (UTC-5)
Chicago (UTC-6)
Los Angeles (UTC-8)
Honolulu (UTC-10)

Africa - Asia
7pm – 10pm
4pm – 7pm
3pm – 6pm

Asia - America
1pm – 4pm
10am – 1pm
9am – noon

America - Africa
4am – 7am
1am – 4am
0am – 3am

2pm – 5pm

8am – 11am

11pm – 2am

1:30pm – 4:30pm
12:45pm – 3:45pm
12:30pm – 3:30pm

7:30am – 10:30am
6:45am – 9:45am
6:30am – 9:30am

10:30pm – 1:30am
9:45pm – 0:45am
9:30pm – 0:30am

Noon – 3pm
10am – 1pm
9am – noon
8am – 11am
4am – 7am
2am – 5am
1am – 4am
11pm – 2am
9pm – 0am

6am – 9am
4am – 7am
3am – 6am
2am – 5am
10pm – 1am
8pm – 11pm
7pm – 10pm
5pm – 8pm
3pm – 6pm

9pm – 0am
7pm – 10pm
6pm – 9pm
5pm – 8pm
1pm – 4pm
11am – 2pm
10am – 1pm
8am – 11am
6am – 9am

The advantage of a one country programme is the use of a local language that significantly
enhances the understanding of the participants. Although this training package has been developedin English only, all the scripts of the pre-recorded narration are available as texts, which can be easilytranslated into local languages. The most technical part of the programme, which is usually
delivered by international experts who travel to the programme country, is covered by this training
package. The organizers, thus, do not have to find and invite such experts to provide lectures.

Invitation or call for participation
Unless the training is planned for internal staff only, e.g., staff training, an invitation or call will be
developed and distributed to the relevant parties. A one-page flyer or concept note is useful and10

effective for attracting the attentions of target populations. There are a variety of methods toregister the participants. One example is provided for reference.

Assessment and evaluation
If a training programme is developed as a part of the project activity, the results monitoring is often
required. Questionnaire surveys are commonly used for self-assessment on many occasions.
Assuming that the programme organizers are not the experts on the issue, this training package
provides a sample questionnaire that can serve as pre- and post-training assessment for theparticipants.

11

3.2 Sample concept note
Background and Objectives
The Minamata Convention on Mercury (the Convention) is one of the newest multilateralenvironmental agreements aiming at protecting human health and the environment fromanthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. In October 2013, theConvention was formally adopted and opened for signature at a Diplomatic Conference on theConvention convened in Kumamoto, with a ceremonial opening held in Minamata City in Japan.
The Convention entered into force in August 2017 and the Parties to the Convention must abide by
the provisions stipulated in the Convention text. The Convention has specific provisions on theidentification of individual stocks of mercury and the development of inventories of mercury
emissions and releases. The Convention also obliges the Parties to report to the Conference of theParties (COP) on the measures taken to implement the Convention. Moreover, the Convention
requires the Parties to cooperate to develop and improve inventories of use, consumption,
emissions, and releases of mercury.
The project implemented by [Name of institution] supports participating countries to improve theirnational mercury-related information base to implement mercury management, especially in theareas of information exchange, awareness and education, research development and monitoring.
The Purpose of this training programme is to support the improvement of national mercury
inventories by compiling various types of information. It also introduces a comprehensive mass
flow concept to outline the national mercury situation throughout its life cycle.

Participation details
Date: 01, 02, 03 and 04 July 202X
Venue: Virtual meeting, Webex.
Project title: [Title of project, if any]
Training title: Developing and updating mercury mass flow and inventories
Participants: Ministries/agencies responsible for monitoring/management of mercury emissions
and releases to air, water and soil. Universities, research institutes or consulting companies that are
engaged in development of mercury inventories. The National Focal Points of the Minamata
Convention.

12

Arrangement: The training programme is composed of 4 sessions in 4 days. Participants will form
groups to initiate the development and improvement of mercury mass flow and inventories. The
results of the group exercise are presented in the final session. Pre- and post-training questionnaire
surveys using an online form will be requested to the participants.
Language: English only (no interpretation provided)13

3.3 Sample training course
This is a sample training course that is expected to extend basic knowledge on mercury issues andprovide the first opportunities to the participants who have some but limited understanding on
mercury inventories. There are many other possible variations and shorter trainings with more
focused topics for specific audiences. (The Lecture and Section numbers below refer to thePowerPoint slides of the presentation material in Chapter 5)

Configuration
The training course is opened by the organizer with welcome remarks and the expectations of the
programme towards achieving the expected impact. The programme is divided into four sessions,in which the following topics are addressed:▪
▪
▪
▪

Session 1: Mercury issues and source categories
Session 2: Principles and practices
Session 3: Stepwise discovery of mercury mass flows
Session 4: Initial mass balance setup

Session 1 explains an overviews of mercury issues and the outlines of the Minamata Convention.
Additionally, the role of mass flow is explained in this session. Three lectures and one exercise areprogrammed in this session.
▪
▪
▪

Lecture: Mercury issues and the Minamata Convention (compilation of Lecture 2 Sections
1-2, and Lecture 1 Section 1)
Lecture: Role of mercury inventories and flow analysis (compilation of Lecture 2 Section 3,
Lecture 5 Part I Section 2, and Lecture 2 Sections 4-6)
Lecture: Mercury source categories (Lecture 3 Sections 1-5)

Based on the lectures provided, the participants initiate the identification of mercury source types
and anticipated data availability in their countries. The instructions for the exercise 1 (Chapter 3.4)
are given to the participants and the results are presented in front of the other participants.
Session 2 provides the scientific background of flow analysis. The mass balance principle,
quantification, predictions, implications and other techniques are presented.
▪

Lecture: Mass balance principle (Lecture 4 Sections 1-6)

Session 3 is the most practical part of the programme that provides all the necessary steps todevelop a mercury mass flow. The lectures are split into three parts, followed by the second exercise,
which is the first opportunities for the participants to experience the process to develop a mercury
mass flow.
▪

14

Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development Part I (Lecture 5 Part I Sections 1-4)

▪
▪

Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development Part II (Lecture 5 Part II Sections 1-5)
Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development Part III (Lecture 5 Part III Sections 1-2)

After the lectures, participants work for the identification and quantification flows. The instructions
for the exercise 2 (Chapter 3.4) are given to the participants. The exercise could be improved andexpanded using national mercury inventories and mass flows.
Session 4 is the final part of the programme. The participants present their progress on the assigned
exercise and feedback is given. The products are the first progress document towards thedevelopment of actual mass flows in their countries. Follow-up actions after the training programme
are also discussed.
Although the sample course does not provide in-depth discussions on cross-cutting issues ongender and human rights, some reference materials are provided to help the participants understandthe importance of this dimension and how it can lead to policy interventions. Adopting an integrated
approach on interconnected issues is crucial towards effective policy measures2.

Programme agenda
Day 1
00:00-00:05(5min)
00:05-00:15(10min)00:15-00:25(10min)00:25-00:40(15min)00:40-01:20(40min)01:20-01:35(15min)01:35-01:45(10min)01:45-02:10(25min)Opening session
Get started – technical set-up, connectivity test, housekeeping
Opening remarks
Session 1: Mercury issues and source categories
Introduction
Objectives, expected outcomes, and schedule
Lecture: Mercury issues and the Minamata Convention
Mercury problem - needs for global actions, the Minamata Convention
on Mercury
Lecture: Role of mercury inventories and flow analysis
How mercury inventories and flow analysis can contribute
Q&A and discussion

Organizer

Organizer
Video (14’03”)

Video (28’38”)

Break
Lecture: Mercury source categories

Video (19’31”)

2This is in line with the Minamata Convention on Mercury which notes the Parties’ awareness of ‘healthconcerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from exposure to mercury of vulnerable populations,especially women, children, and, through them, future generations.’ In addition to the health aspects, theConvention further promotes the consideration for the needs of vulnerable populations in health aspects,
public information, awareness and education (Article 18), in research, development and monitoring (Article19), and in effectiveness evaluation (Article 22), are key priorities to be taken forward.

15

02:10-02:25(15min)02:25-02:55(30min)02:55-03:00(5min)

Raw minerals and fuels, industrial processes, mercury-added
products, mercury waste
Q&A and discussion
Exercise 1
Identifying mercury source types and anticipated data availability
Wrap up
Key points of the day.

Facilitator
Organizer

Day 2
00:00-00:05(5min)
00:05-00:45(40min)00:45-00:55(10min)00:55-01:35(40min)01:35-01:45(15min)01:45-01:55(10min)01:45-02:05(10min)02:05-02:40(35min)02:40-02:55(15min)02:55-03:00(5min)

Session 1 (continued)
Get started – technical set-up, connectivity test, housekeeping.
Report back 1
Results of Exercise 1
Session 2: Principles and practiceIntroduction
Introduction of Session 2.
Lecture: Mass balance principle
Mass balance principle and examples on the process, sectoral andsocietal levels.
Q&A and discussion

Facilitator

Organizer
Video (25’59”)

Break
Session 3: Stepwise discovering of mercury mass flows
Introduction
Introduction of Session 3.
Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development
Part I: Sector definitions, identifying individual flows, quantification offlows.
Q&A and discussion
Wrap up
Key points of the day

Organizer
Video (21’49”)

Organizer

Day 3
00:00-00:05(5min)
00:05-00.45(40min)00:45-01:00(15min)01:00-01:10(10min)16

Session 3 (continued)
Get started – technical set-up, connectivity test, housekeeping.
Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development (continued)
Part II: Quantification of stocks, collection of supplementary data,
working with intervals, available online tools and resources.
Q&A and discussion

Video (29’25”)

Lecture: Steps in mercury mass flow development (continued)
Part III: Closing and calibrating the mass balance, identifying andreducing uncertainties, reporting and review.

Video (07’31”)

01:10-01:25(15min)01:25-01:35(10min)01:35-02:55(80min)02:55-03:00(5min)

Q&A and discussion
Break
Exercise 2
Identifying and quantifying flows. Improving and expanding thenational mercury inventories and mass flow. Introduction, planningand starting improvements.
Wrap up
Key points of the day.

Facilitator

Organizer

Day 4
00:00-00:05(5min)
00:05-00:15(10min)00:15-01:10(55min)01:10-01:40(30min)01:40-01:50(10min)01:50-02:20(30min)02:20-02:50(30min)02:50-03:00(10min)Session 4: Initial mass balance setup
Get started – technical set-up, connectivity test, housekeeping.
Introduction
Introduction of Session 4
Exercise 2 (continued)
Preparation of presentations
Final presentation for Exercise 2
Presentations of the initial mass balance setup and plans for future
work on mercury in the countries including Q&A and discussion.
Break

Organizer

Final presentation for Exercise 2 (continued)

Facilitator

Discussions
Advancing mercury mass flow and inventory development
Wrap up and closing
Way forward.

Facilitator

Facilitator
Facilitator

Organizer

173.4 Group exercises
The group exercises include training that aims to inspire and help the participants to get theirmercury mass flow development started. The following two group exercise sessions are suggested:▪
▪

Exercise 1: Identifying mercury source types and anticipated data availability
Exercise 2: Identifying and quantifying flows. Improving and expanding the national
mercury inventories and mass flow. Introduction, planning and starting improvements.

Exercise 1
The aim of group exercise 1 is to identify the mercury emission and release sources present in the
country and also to identify some potential data sources. The exercise should be conducted after
Lecture 3 which presents the mercury source categories. It is a preliminary discussion among thegroup members, based on their background knowledge and any easily available literature. If thecountry has already conducted a mercury inventory using the UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit
methodology, this can be used as a basis for the discussion. If the groups to be trained include
people who have taken part in the inventory development, they can lead the discussion. Other
participants will benefit from the discussion, but may also add to the discussion, should they haveparticular insights into some of the mercury source categories (for example representatives from
mercury source sectors or academia).
Before the group work, the groups should be introduced to the mercury source list overview file
(Annex A) in which each group shall enter:▪
▪

Their preliminary knowledge of mercury source sub-categories presented in their country.
In case of doubts, the sub-category should be marked with a question mark to highlight theneeds for further investigation.
Their suggestions for data sources; preferably by full title or reference, otherwise in a
descriptive manner, which will help the inventory team identify the specific data sources.

It is advised that the participants are pre-assigned to groups, ideally with inventory team members,
sector representatives, government officials, or academia. distributed evenly among the groups.
Also, the groups should be asked to identify a group lead and a group rapporteur in advance of thegroup work, from participants willing to be group leads and group rapporteurs, as having these roles
will involve some additional work. These group leads can ideally continue their roles throughout allgroup work sessions.
The completed data files shall be submitted to the inventory team for follow up. In the report backsession, the group rapporteurs shall briefly present to the plenary the group’s work, focusing on key

18

findings, as well as any questions or challenges that were observed in the exercise. It is not theintention that the groups run through every mercury source sub-category in detail at the report backsession.

Exercise 2
The aim of group exercise 2 is to identify and visualise mercury flows present in the country, andthen to populate the visualisation with quantities for each flow, and to identify remaining data gaps
as much as possible.
The task is to indicate all the flows of mercury in its life cycle in the country. This will include imports,
exports, emissions, consumption, releases and flows between different life cycle steps (=sectors),
as well as the relevant waste treatment and any recycling sectors present in the country. Note thatsome source sub-categories pertain to not only mercury-added products and mercury-using
industrial processes, but also sources which mobilise mercury through the use of raw minerals andfuels with trace mercury concentrations. Examples of the latter are coal combustion, cement
production and non-ferrous metal extraction.
In case the workshop is held in person, the visualisation of flows can be done on a physicalwhiteboard. This has the advantage of a potentially higher interaction among participants.
Periodically taking photos is beneficial to document the flow development. Alternatively, if a data
viewer is present, it can be chosen to make the visualization in a virtual whiteboard. This has theadvantage that the resulting digital visualization can easily be integrated in the project reporting.
If the flow visualisation is conducted on an online whiteboard, which may be new to someparticipants, careful instruction would be needed on how to indicate mercury source categories(sectors/processes), flow arrows, flow tonnages and comments in the platform.
Due to the unavailability of information, the results of the group exercise 2 cannot be expected tobe final. Substantial supplementary data collection may be needed, and if applicable, intersessional
work on flow quantification can be an advantage. The group exercise 2 can be considered as astarting point of the quantification work, to be followed up and completed later. Consequently, thegroup exercise 2 can also include group discussions of strategies for filling data gaps and involving
more stakeholders.
In the final group presentations, the group rapporteurs are invited to present to the plenary the statusof their mercury flow development, the results of their discussions of follow-up activities, and any
key successes and challenges encountered.

19

3.5 Pre- and post-training self-test andevaluations
It is important to collect information from the training participants to ensure the participation oftarget audiences and to assess the effectiveness of the programme. It should be disaggregated bygender and age range when a questionnaire is analysed.

Full-registration questionnaire<Personal information> (all mandatory)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

First name
Family name
Gender (single choice): Male, Female, Prefer not to tellAge range (single choice): 19 or below, between 20-29, between 30-39, between 40-49,
between 50-59, 60 or above
Country / Region
Email<Work-related information> (all mandatory)
▪
▪
▪

▪

Name of Institution:
Position in Institution:
Your role(s) in the institution (Select all that apply to you): Management, administrative
work, policy development and implementation, education and lecture, sample/specimen
collection and analysis, research planning and experiment, machine operation andmaintenances, data processing and analysis, consulting, public relation andcommunications, student, other (please specify)
How much of your routine work relates to mercury (single choice): Less than 10%, between
10-50%, more than 50%<Baseline survey for progress monitoring>Please respond to these questions based on your own personal knowledge (this is NOT an exam!)

Q1: Have you ever calculated mercury emissions and releases in the following sectors? (Select allthat apply to you).
▪
▪

20

Annex D processes: ☐coal-fired power plant, ☐coal-fired industrial boiler, ☐Non-ferrous
metal smelting, ☐waste incineration plant, ☐ cement clinker production
ASGM: ☐extraction & processing, ☐amalgamation and burning of amalgam gold, ☐refining▪
▪
▪

Mercury-added products: ☐production, ☐emission and release during usage, ☐waste
collection and disposal
Mining: ☐mercury mine, ☐non-ferrous metal mine, ☐limestone mine, ☐other please
specify,
Any other sector: ☐ please specify

Q2: Do you know the differences between elemental mercury and methylmercury in the following
areas? (Select all that apply to you).
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

☐Physical property,☐Biological property,☐Toxicity,☐Environmental behaviour,☐Source of generation

Q3: Are you able to explain why mercury is used in the following products and processes?
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Battery: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not reallyLamp: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Vaccine: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Switch: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not reallyDental restoration: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Thermometer: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Sphygmomanometer (manometer): ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Vacuum pump: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Tire balancer: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Photographic film and paper: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Propellant for satellites: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Chlor-alkali production: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Vinyl-chloride production: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really

Q4: Can you explain how anthropogenic mercury emissions result in the elevated mercury levels infish?
▪

☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really

Q5: Can you properly design and undertake mercury surveys for the following sectors?
▪
▪

Mercury trade: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really
Emissions and releases: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really21▪

Mercury waste particularly end-of-life products: ☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐notreallyQ6: Can you differentiate the environmental and health risks of cupellation, amalgamation andcyanidation processes for gold and silver extraction?
▪

☐Yes thoroughly, ☐to some extent, ☐not really

Post-training evaluation questionnaire
Each answer should be linked with the registration information so that the personal attributes canbe used for statistical analysis.

<Personal information> (all mandatory)▪
▪
▪
▪

First name
Family nameCountry / Region
Email<About the training programme >Q1: Could you rate the overall level of the presentations that you received in comparison with yourpersonal competency?
▪

☐Too high, ☐slightly high, ☐just fit to me, ☐slightly low, ☐too low

Q2: Could you select one presentation/topic that interests you the most? (Single choice)(List all presentations or topics here)

Q3: Who do you think was the most suitable people/section in your institution to participate in thistraining programme? (Select all that apply to you).
▪

☐Myself, ☐my co-workers, ☐ specific section of the institution (please specify), ☐no one
in my institution

Q4: What will you do with the information received in this training programme? (Select all that apply
to you).

22

▪

☐Apply it to my daily work, ☐share it to my colleagues and others, ☐ask UNEP for
more/specific information, ☐ other (please specify), ☐none at this moment

Post-training evaluation for progress monitoring
These questions are asked to measure the contribution of the training programme to developing
capacity. The numbers are respective to the baseline survey for progress monitoring done prior to
the training.

Q2: Do you think the programme helped to improve your understanding on the differences between
elemental mercury and methylmercury in the following areas? (Select all that apply to you).
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

☐Physical property,☐Biological property,☐Toxicity,☐Environmental behaviour,☐Source of generation

Q3: Do you think the programme helped you to understand why mercury is used in the following
products and processes?
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Battery: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me,☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Lamp: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me, ☐the item was not relevant in this programme
Vaccine: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me,☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Switch: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me,☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Dental restoration: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more
confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Thermometer: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing
to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Sphygmomanometer (manometer): ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐nodifference, ☐more confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Vacuum pump: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing
to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Tire balancer: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing
to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Photographic film and paper: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference,☐more confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme

23

▪
▪
▪

Propellant for satellites: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more
confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Chlor-alkali production: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more
confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Vinyl-chloride production: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more
confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme

Q4: Do you think the programme helped you to understand that the anthropogenic mercury
emissions results in the elevated mercury levels in fish?
▪

☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me, ☐ theitem was not relevant in this programme

Q5: Do you think the programme helped your ability to properly design and undertake the mercury
surveys for the following sectors?
▪
▪
▪

Mercury trade: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing
to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Emissions and releases: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more
confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme
Mercury waste particularly end-of-life products: ☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent,☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me, ☐ the item was not relevant in this programme

Q6: Do you think the programme helped you to differentiate the environmental and health risks ofcupellation, amalgamation and cyanidation processes for gold and silver extraction?
▪

24☐ Helped a lot, ☐helped to some extent, ☐no difference, ☐more confusing to me, ☐ theitem was not relevant in this programme

4 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION AND
LITERATURE
Background and in-depth information is compiled in this chapter. The users can refer, as necessary,to the materials to add values to their own training programmes. Some information is slightly
beyond the scope of this training package, but it will serve as a guidance for extended self-study.

4.1 Outlines of the Minamata Convention
on Mercury
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a multilateral legally-binding environmental agreement
aiming to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions andreleases of mercury and mercury compounds. The text was adopted in October 2013, and iscomposed of a preambular text, 35 articles, and 5 annexes. The Convention entered into force on
16th August 2017, on the 90th day after the deposition of the 50th instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval, or accession.
In its preamble, the Convention recognises the substantial lessons of Minamata disease, inparticular the serious health and effects resulting from the mercury pollution, and makes aware of
the health concerns to women, children, and future generation. The Convention sets out a range ofmeasures throughout the entire life cycle of mercury to meet its objective, which include measures
to control the supply and trade of mercury, and to control mercury-added products andmanufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury compounds are used, as well as artisanaland small-scale gold mining. The text also includes the articles on emissions and releases of
mercury, on environmentally sound interim storage, on mercury waste, and contaminated sites.
Articles 3 – 12 relate to the operational provisions describing Parties’ obligations to reduce
emissions and releases, with controls along their life cycle. Articles 13 – 21 facilitate theimplementation of these measures including provisions related to support for the Parties,
information and awareness raising and reporting. Articles 22 – 35 cover the overall management of
the Convention. It is also worth noting that the Convention promotes consideration of the needs ofvulnerable populations in health aspects; in public information, awareness and education; inresearch, development and monitoring; and in effectiveness evaluation; are key priorities to be taken
forward. Annexes A and B list the mercury-added products and manufacturing processes to be25

controlled by the Convention. Annex C sets the items to be included in the national action plans forartisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Annex D lists the point source categories foremission control.

Table 4 Article-by-article outlines of the Minamata Convention
ArticlePreamble
Article 1 Objective
Article 2 Definitions
Article 3 Supply and trade

Article 4 Mercury-added
products
Article 5 Manufacturing
processes
Article 6 Exemptions
Article 7 ASGM

Article 8 Emissions

Article 9 Releases

Article 10 Interim storage
Article 11 Mercury wastes
Article 12 Contaminatedsites
Articles 13 – 14 Finance,technical assistance
Article 15 Compliance
Article 16 Health

Articles 17 – 18
Information, awareness,
education

26

OutlineRecognition of mercury risks, substantial lessons of Minamata Disease
Protection of the human health and the environment from anthropogenic
emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.
Definition of terms in the Convention.
Control of primary mercury mining by setting the phase out period.
Prohibition of international trade of mercury except for the use allowed under
the Convention.
Control (including phase out and phase down) of production, import andexport of the mercury-added products in Annex A.
Control (including phase out) of mercury uses in the processes specified in
Annex B.
Registration of exemptions from the phase-out dates specified in Annexes A
and B.
Reduction (or elimination wherever feasible) of mercury use in ASGM for thecountries having more than insignificant ASGM activities. Development andimplementation of national action plans in accordance with Annex C.
Control of emissions into air from the source categories listed in Annex D
based on the best available techniques and best environmental practices.
Preparation of inventory.
Identification of relevant source categories that are not addressed in otherprovisions of the Convention. Control of releases to land or water.
Preparation of inventory.
Environmentally sound interim storage of mercury other than waste mercury.
Management of mercury wastes in an environmentally sound manner, taking
into account the guidelines developed by the Basel Convention.
Identification and assessment of sites contaminated by mercury or mercury
compounds.
Financial resources and mechanisms, capacity-building, technical assistanceand technology transfer.
Establishment of a Committee as a subsidiary body of the COP, to promote
implementation and review of compliance.
Development and implementation of the health strategies and programmes
to protect populations at risk. Development of science-based educational andpreventive programmes on occupational exposures. Appropriate health-careservices for affected populations. Strengthening capacity for diagnosis,
treatment and monitoring of health risks.
Exchange of scientific, technical, economic and legal information among theParties. Promotion and facilitation of the provision of information to the
public.

Article
Article 19 Research,monitoring
Article 20 Implementation
plans
Article 21 Reporting
Article 22 Effectivenessevaluation
Articles 23 – 28 COP,
Secretariat, etc.
Articles 29 – 35
Ratification, etc.
Annex A Mercury-added
products

Annex B Manufacturing
processes
Annex C ASGM national
action plans
Annex D Point sources ofemissions

OutlineCooperation for research and development on inventories, modelling andmonitoring, impacts on human health and the environment, fate andtransport, commerce and trade, mercury-free alternatives, etc.
Development and execution of implementation plans taking into account thedomestic circumstances.
Periodical reporting to the COP on measures taken by the Parties.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Convention on the basis of available
scientific, environmental, technical, financial and economic information.
The COP, secretariat, settlement of disputes, amendments, voting.
Signature, ratification, entry into force, reservation, withdrawal, depositary,
and authentic texts.
Introductory text: General exceptions.
Products essential for civil protection and military uses
Products for research, calibration of instrumentation, for use as reference
standard
Where no feasible mercury-free alternative for replacement is available
Products used in traditional or religious practices
Vaccines containing thiomersal as preservatives
Part I: Products to be phased out
Batteries; switches and relays; lamps; cosmetics; pesticides, biocides andtopical antiseptics; non-electronic measuring devices
Part II: Dental amalgams.
Part I: Chlor-alkali production, acetaldehyde production.
Part II: Vinyl chloride monomer, sodium or potassium methylate or ethylate,
polyurethane.
Content of national action plan.

Coal-fired power plants, coal-fired industrial boilers, smelting and roastingprocesses used in the production of non-ferrous metals, waste incineration
facilities, and cement clinker production facilities.
Annex E Arbitration
Arbitration and conciliation procedures.
Source: Minamata Convention (2013). Text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for adoption by the
Conference of Plenipotentiaries.

Table 5 Mercury-added products listed in Annex A
Mercury-added products(a) Products essential for civil protection and military uses.
(b) Products for research, calibration of instrumentation, for use as reference standard.
(c) Where no feasible mercury-free alternative for replacement is available, switches andrelays, cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps (CCFL
and EEFL) for electronic displays and, measuring devices.
(d) Products used in traditional or religious practices; and(e) Vaccines containing thiomersal as preservatives.
Part I
Batteries, except for button zinc silver oxide batteries with a mercury content < 2% andbutton zinc air batteries with a mercury content < 2%

Timeline
Excluded
from Annex(notimeline)

2020

27

Mercury-added products
Switches and relays, except very high accuracy capacitance and loss measurement bridges
and high frequency radio frequency switches and relays in monitoring and control
instruments with a maximum mercury content of 20 mg per bridge, switch or relay
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) for general lighting purposes that are ≤ 30 watts with amercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp burner
Compact fluorescent lamps with an integrated ballast (CFL.i) for general lighting purposesthat are ≤ 30 watts with a mercury content not exceeding 5 mg per lamp burner
Linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) for general lighting purposes:(a) Triband phosphor < 60 watts with a mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp;(b) Halophosphate phosphor ≤ 40 watts with a mercury content exceeding 10 mg per lamp
High pressure mercury vapour lamps (HPMV) for general lighting purposes
Mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps and external electrode fluorescent lamps (CCFL
and EEFL) for electronic displays:(a) short length (≤ 500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 3.5 mg per lamp(b) medium length (> 500 mm and ≤ 1 500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 5 mg perlamp(c) long length (> 1 500 mm) with mercury content exceeding 13 mg per lamp
Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) and external electrode fluorescent lamps (EEFL) of
all lengths for electronic displays, not included in the listing directly above
Cosmetics (with mercury content above 1ppm), including skin lightening soaps and creams,
and not including eye area cosmetics where mercury is used as a preservative and noeffective and safe substitute preservatives are available3
Pesticides, biocides and topical antiseptics
The following non-electronic measuring devices except non-electronic measuring devices
installed in large-scale equipment or those used for high precision measurement, where nosuitable mercury-free alternative is available:(a) barometers;(b) hygrometers;(c) manometers;(d) thermometers;(e) sphygmomanometers.
Strain gauges to be used in plethysmographs;
The following electrical and electronic measuring devices except those installed in largescale equipment or those used for high precision measurement, where no suitable mercury
free alternative is available:(a) Melt pressure transducers, melt pressure transmitters and melt pressure sensors
Mercury vacuum pumps
Tyre balancers and wheel weights
Photographic film and paper
Propellant for satellites and spacecraftPart II
Dental amalgam

Timeline
2020

2020
2025
2020

2020
2020

2025
2020

2020
2020

2025
2025

2025
2025
2025
2025

Phase
down (notimeline)
Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2022). Annex A to the Minamata Convention on Mercury,as amended by the Conference of the Parties at its fourth meeting.

3

The intention is not to cover cosmetics, soaps or creams with trace contaminants of mercury.

28

Table 6 Manufacturing processes listed in Annex B
Mercury-using processes
Chlor-alkali production
Acetaldehyde production in which mercury or mercury
compounds are used as a catalyst
Vinyl chloride monomer production
Sodium or potassium methylate or ethylate

Timeline
Phase out by 2025
Phase out by 2018

50 % use reduction by 2020
Phase out as fast as possible and within 10
years of the entry into force of the Convention
50 % emission reduction by 2020
Production of polyurethane using mercury containing
Phase out as fast as possible and within 10
catalysts
years of the entry into force of the Convention
Source: Minamata Convention (2013). Text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for adoption by the
Conference of Plenipotentiaries.

Table 7 Lists of mercury waste falling under paragraph 2 of Article 11
Type of waste
List of mercury waste consisting of mercury or mercury compounds (subparagraph 2 (a) of article 11)
Recovered elemental mercury
Elemental mercury
Mercury (I) chloride and mercury (II) chloride
Mercury (II) oxide (mercuric oxide)
Mercury (II) sulphate (mercuric sulphate)
Mercury (II) nitrate (mercuric nitrate)
Cinnabar concentrate
Mercury sulphide
Non-exhaustive list of waste containing mercury or mercury compounds (subparagraph 2 (b) of article 11)
Non-electronic measuring devices containing mercury (barometers, hygrometers, manometers,
thermometers, sphygmomanometers)
Electrical and electronic switches, contacts, relays and rotating electrical connectors with mercury
Fluorescent bulbs, high intensity discharge (HID) bulbs (mercury vapour bulbs, metal halide and highpressure sodium bulbs), neon/argon lamps
Batteries/accumulators containing mercury
Biocides and pesticides containing mercury and their formulations and products
Paints and varnishes containing mercury
Pharmaceuticals containing mercury for human and veterinary uses, including vaccines
Cosmetics and related products containing mercury
Dental amalgam
Scientific instrument used for the calibration of medical or scientific devices containing mercury
Indicative list of waste contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds (subparagraph 2 (c) of article
11)
Waste from industrial pollution control devices or cleaning of industrial off-gases
Bottom ash
Wastewater treatment residues/slurries
SludgeOil and gas refining catalyst
Tailings and extraction process residues
Rubble, debris and soil

29

Type of waste
Other waste from manufacturing processes using mercury or mercury compounds
Other waste from the manufacturing of mercury-added products
Other waste from natural gas cleaning
Wastes from waste treatment facilities
Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2019). MC-3/5: Mercury waste thresholds, In Decision
adopted by the third Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

30

4.2 Mass balance and mass flows
The mass balance principle is described below in general.
▪

▪
▪

Mercury is a chemical element and persistent in the environment. This means:− It is not destructible,− It is not created in processes,− It is only “fed” into processes, or “society”, and released via process outputs to theenvironment (including waste deposits)
Total input = total outputs: accumulation in times of changing activities (+/-)“What goes in must come out” – only the output pathways differ.

Figure 1 below gives an example of the mass balance for a coal-fired power plant where all mercury
inputs come with the coal (natural trace concentrations) and the output pathways are influenced by
the air emission control systems installed in the facilities.
No filter
100%

Fabric filter forparticulate mater
50%

50%

50%

100%

Wet flue gas
desulphurisation system

3%

100%

47%

100%

Figure 1 Mass balance for a coal-fired power plant

The mass balance equation is given below for the general case:
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 + 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 + 𝐷𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 + 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
For the specific case of an element such as mercury, which is neither formed nor degraded4, it canbe simplified as:
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 = 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 + 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
Looking at a country or another “economic” system, this equation can be detailed as:
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑠 = 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 + 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠(𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠) + 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 + 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

4

In theory, a nuclear reaction can change one element to another, but cases where it has practicalrelevance are rare/irrelevant.

31

A mass flow can be well presented using a Sankey diagram, where the widths of the arrows illustrate
the quantities of the flow. For example, the global supply of intentionally used mercury wasestimated in an UNEP report as shown in Figure 2 :Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2017). Global mercury supply, trade and demand.

Figure 2 Global mercury flow in Sankey diagram

During the development of a mass flow diagram, the quantities may not be included at the beginning,but the flows could be illustrated as an intermediate product as shown in Figure 3 below. The
diagram can then be improved by adding information obtained from surveys and studies.

Figure 3 Intermediate product of mercury flow analysis

324.3 Emission factors, and input andoutput distribution factors
The UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit (UNEP 2019b) does not work with traditional emission factors.
This is because it is mass-balance derived, and therefore allows a full coverage of emissions andreleases to all environmental media. Instead, the Toolkit works on a higher level of detail with socalled input factors and output distribution factors. The input factor is the amount of mercury
entering into the system/ sector/ facility per unit of feed material or per product produced, forexample, g Hg/tonne of coal combusted or g Hg/thermometer. The output distribution factors areunit-less fractions of the total mercury Input anticipated to be released/ emitted through a particularpathway. By definition (and with a few special exceptions in the Toolkit), the sum of the output
distribution factors is always 1 (meaning 100% of the total mercury input).

𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑤𝑎𝑦 = 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 × 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 × 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
Parameter
Activity rate
Input factor
Output distribution
factorDescription
Amount of feed material or product (e.g., tonnes or pieces per
year)
Mercury content (e.g., grams of mercury) per unit of feedmaterial processed or product produced (background data)
Fraction of the mercury input that is released through aparticular pathway; air, water, land, products, general waste, or
sector specific waste treatment (background data)

So-called default factors, based on literature data, are automatically applied in the Toolkit Inventory
level 1, and pre-entered, but editable in the Toolkit Inventory Level 2. To increase the accuracy of theestimates, it is encouraged to use local factors in level 2, provided that well documented data isavailable and reported explicitly by users in their inventory reports. The UNEP Mercury Inventory
Toolkit and its default estimation factors can be found in the Inventory Level 2 calculation
spreadsheet and with more detail and background in the Toolkit Reference Report.
Other (air) emission estimation systems, such as pollution release and transfer registers (PRTR),
typically work with traditional emission factors at their basic inventory level (Tier 1), for example g
Hg emitted to the air per ton of coal used (meaning that they are not derived from mass-balance).
Some examples of input and output factors are given below for mercury-filled thermometers (Table
8 and Table 9) and coal-fired power plants (Table 10 and Table 11). The units depend on the subject
in question, and the default output distribution factors depend on the mercury control/management33

schemes in place. All the default input and output distribution factors can be found in the Toolkit
Reference Report.

Table 8 Preliminary default mercury input factors, by thermometer type
Thermometer type
Medical thermometers
Ambient air temperature thermometers
Industrial and special application
thermometers (e.g., marine engine control)
Miscellaneous glass thermometers with Hg,
including for laboratories

Mercury content (g Hg/item)
0.5-1.5
2-5
5-200
1-40

Table 9 Preliminary default mercury output distribution factors for the use and disposal ofthermometers
Phase in life cycle

Default output distribution factors, share of Hg input
GeneralSector specific
Air
Water
Land
waste
treatment/ disposal*1
0.01
?
0.01
?
?

Production*3
During use and disposal (actual waste
management status in country) *2
No or very limited separate thermometercollection. All or most general waste is
0.1
0.3
0.6
collected and handled in a publicly controlledmannerNo or very limited separate thermometercollection. Missing or informal collection and 0.2
0.3
0.2
0.3
handling of general waste is widespread
Separate thermometer collection with highcollection rates. All or most general waste is
0.1
0.3
0.3
0.3
collected and handled in a publicly controlledmannerNotes:*1 Mercury recycling or special deposition, for example, secure disposal in old mines.
*2 Mercury inputs to disposal are the amounts of mercury per thermometer type, combined with disposed
amounts of the respective thermometer type. If annual supply data from a few years earlier (for the same
thermometer type) is available, it can be used to approximate disposed amounts.
*3 Outputs are the share of mercury input to production in the country. If the mercury amounts supplied to
production cannot be obtained, they can be approximated by the amount of mercury in the produced products.

34

Table 10 Default input factors for mercury in coal for energy production in power plants.
Material
Coal used in power plants (for all main types)

Default input factors;
g mercury per metric ton of dry coal;(low end, high end, (intermediate))
0.05 - 0.5 (0.15)

Table 11 Default output distribution factors for mercury in coal for energy production in power plants.
Emission reduction system andcoal typeAir

Coal wash*1

Combustion of anthracite:
Level 0: None
Level 1: Particulate matter simple
APC: ESP/PS/CYC
Level 2: Particulate matter (FF)Level 3: Efficient APC:
PM+SDA/wFGD
Level 4: Very efficient APC:
PM+FGD+SCR
Level 5: Mercury specific
Combustion of bituminous coal:
Level 0: None
Level 1: Particulate matter simple
APC: ESP/PS/CYC
Level 2: Particulate matter (FF)Level 3: Efficient APC:
PM+SDA/wFGD
Level 4: Very efficient APC:
PM+FGD+SCR
Level 5: Mercury specific
Combustion of sub-bituminous
coal:
Level 0: None
Level 1: Particulate matter simple
APC: ESP/PS/CYC
Level 2: Particulate matter (FF)Level 3: Efficient APC:
PM+SDA/wFGD
Level 4: Very efficient APC:
PM+FGD+SCR
Level 5: Mercury specific
Combustion of lignite:
Level 0: None

Distribution factors, share of Hg input
Water Land*2 Products*3
GeneralSector specificwaste*2
treatment/disposal*2
0.01
0.8 (in coal
0.19
to be
combusted)

1
0.75
0.5
0.35

0.25

?

0.5
0.65

0.3

0.7

0.03

0.97

1
0.75

0.25

0.5
0.35

0.5
0.65

?

0.1

0.9

0.03

0.97

1
0.9

0.1

0.5
0.6

?

0.5
0.4

0.75

0.25

0.25

0.75

1

35

Emission reduction system andcoal type

Air

Distribution factors, share of Hg input
Water Land*2 Products*3
GeneralSector specificwaste*2
treatment/disposal*2
0.02

Level 1: Particulate matter simple 0.98
APC: ESP/PS/CYC
Level 2: Particulate matter (FF)
0.95
0.05
Level 3: Efficient APC:
0.8
?
0.2
PM+SDA/wFGD
Level 4: Very efficient APC:
0.8
0.2
PM+FGD+SCR
Level 5: Mercury specific
0.25
0.75
Notes:*1 If coal wash is applied, the input mercury to combustion is the calculated output to products from coal
wash. Output to water occurs if not all Hg in wash media is retained in residues.
*2 If residues are not deposited carefully, mercury in residues could be released to land. Sector-specificdisposal may include disposal at special secured landfills, disposal at special landfills with no securing ofleaching, and more diffuse use in road construction or other construction work. The actual distribution
between disposal as general waste (ordinary landfills) and sector-specific deposition likely varies
considerably among countries and specific information on the local disposal procedures should be collected.
*3 Depending on the specific flue gas cleaning systems applied, some of the mercury otherwise deposited as
residue may follow commercial by-products (primarily gypsum wallboards and sulphuric acid).
CYC – Cyclones; DS – Dry scrubber; ESP – Electrostatic precipitator; FF - Fabric filter (or "bag filter"); FGD –Flue gas desulphurisation; PM – Particulate matter (or PM filter); PS - Particle scrubber; SCR - Selective
catalytic reduction; SD - Spray dryer; SDA - Spray dryer adsorber; SNCR - Selective non-catalytic reduction;
wFGD – Wet flue gas desulphurisation.

36

4.4 Customs codes and international
trade data
Import/export statistics are a valuable data source for several mercury source sub-categories,
especially the statistics for the trade of mercury-added products, metal mercury and in some cases
mercury compounds. The data sources may be national (sometimes they offer a higher level ofdetail), or international using the UN COMTRADE system. The relevant link to the UN COMTRADE
and guidance on relevant product and materials groups, current customs codes, and analysis of theobtained trade results can be found in the Toolkit’s Guideline for Inventory level 1, Appendix 2 (UNEP
2019c)
Most countries use so-called Harmonized System (HS) customs codes, supplemented by thecustoms codes used at the regional and national levels. The easiest data to obtain would be the sixdigit HS codes (for example at UN COMTRADE). A problem that is always encountered in mercury
inventory and mass flow development is, that many customs codes are NOT specific to mercuryadded versions of similar products. It should be noted that a guidance document has beendeveloped for the use of customs codes to identify mercury-added products. As the mercurycontaining and the mercury-free products are registered under the same customs code, additional
data gathering from importers is needed to establish the estimated fraction containing mercury.
Data for the following product/material groups in Table 12 can be sought with meaningful results in
the UN COMTRADE database:Table 12 HS codes for possible mercury containing product and material
Product/material
Use thisname in the Toolkit search word
Inventory Level 1
Ore concentrates
5.2.3 Zinc
concentrates
5.2.4 Copper
concentrates
5.2.5 Leadconcentrates

Examples of product name(s) andcode(s) in the Comtrade (others may
exist)Names
HS codesZinc… Zinc ores andconcentrate concentratess
Copper… Copper ores andconcentrate concentratess
Lead… Lead ores andconcentrate concentratess

Remarks

26080026030026070037

Product/material
Use thisname in the Toolkit search word
Inventory Level 1
5.3.1 Cement

5.3.1 Cement

Cement5.3.1 Cement clinker Cementclinker
5.5.1 Thermometers Thermometer… Thermometers &pyrometers, not combinedwith other instr., liquid-filled,
for direct reading

902511Isolating switches andmake-and-break switches,for a voltage exceeding
1,000 volts
SwitchElectrical apparatus forswitching, protecting or
making connections for a
voltage exceeding 1,000
volts
SwitchSwitches, for a voltage notexceeding 1,000 volts
Relay
Relays, for a voltage notexceeding 1,000 volts
Relay
Relays for a voltage notexceeding 60 volts
Relay
Relays for a voltage greaterthan 60 volts and notexceeding 1,000 volts
Thermostat Electronic thermostats,other thermostats
Battery cell … Primary cells and primary
batteries.

8535305.5.2 Electricalswitches and relays
with mercury
Switches
SwitchRelaysThermostats
5.5.4 Batteries

38

Examples of product name(s) andcode(s) in the Comtrade (others may
exist)Names
HS codes… Portland cement,
2523
aluminous cement, slag
cement, super sulphate
cement and similar
hydraulic cements, whether
or not coloured or in theform of clinkers.
… White cement, whether or252321
not artificially coloured… Other than white
252329… Aluminous cement252330… Other hydraulic cements
252390… Cement clinkers
252310Remarks

This is a generic category
which includes bothcement and cement clinker-

May include thermometerswith other types of liquids-

This is a generic customs
code that include all typesof non-rechargeable
batteries, including several
batteries without mercury

8535908536508536408536418536499032108506

Product/material
Use thisname in the Toolkit search word
Inventory Level 1
Other button cells(zinc-air, alkaline
button cells, silveroxide, mercuric oxide)

Examples of product name(s) andcode(s) in the Comtrade (others may
exist)Names
HS codes… Primary cells & primary
850660 batteries, air-zinc… Cells and batteries;
850640
primary, silver oxide
Cells and batteries; primary,
850630mercuric oxide

Remarks

Includes only part of thebattery types in the Toolkit
category, as there is no
separate 6-digit HS codefor button cell alkaline
batteries (may be available
in national 8-digit HS
codes)

Other batteries[potentially] withmercury (plain
cylindrical alkaline,
permanganate)
5.5.3 Light sources Lamp
with mercury
Fluorescent tubes(double ended) andCompact fluorescentlamps (CFL single
ended)… Manganese dioxide
Other primary cells andbatteries

850610850680… Electric discharge lamps(excl. ultra-violet lamps),
fluorescent, hot cathode853931-The 6-digit HS code
includes both "Fluorescenttubes (double ended)" and"Compact fluorescentlamps (CFL single ended)",but not the distribution on
the types; distribution on
types must be based onother data.

Other light sources
containing mercury(see guideline)… Electric discharge lamps
other than fluorescent (hotcathode), mercury or
sodium vapour, metal halideor ultraviolet lamps
mercury/sodium vapour
lamps; metal halide lamps

853939-Includes some lamps withhigh mercury contents, but
not all.
Includes mercury
containing ultra-violet
fluorescent lamps used fortanning beds as well as
infra-red lamps which do
not contain mercury.

853932Other relevant product/material groups that can potentially be used forcross-checking of mercury inputs
Metal mercury
Mercury
Mercury280540Mercury compounds Mercury… Inorganic or organic
2852
compounds compounds of mercury,excluding amalgams,
whether or not chemicallydefined… Inorganic or organic
285210compounds of mercury,excluding amalgams,
chemically defined… Inorganic or organic
285290compounds of mercury;39

Product/material
Use thisname in the Toolkit search word
Inventory Level 1

5.5.6 Biocides andpesticides

Pesticides

Examples of product name(s) andcode(s) in the Comtrade (others may
exist)Names
HS codesexcluding amalgams, notchemically defined… disinfectants and similar
380850 products
Insecticides
380891
Fungicides

380892

Herbicides, anti-sprouting
products and plant growth
regulators
Other

380893Paint… dispersed or dissolved ina non-aqueous medium(excluding those based onpolyesters and acrylic or
vinyl polymers)… dispersed or dissolved in
an aqueous medium
5.5.9 Cosmetics and Cosmetics Lip make-up preparations,related products
Eye make-up preparations,
Manicure or pedicure
preparations, Other,
Powders, including
compacts, Skin creams,
Other
Soap
For toilet use (including
medicated products), Soaps
for toilet use (incl.
medicated), Other, Soap inother forms, Organic
surface-active products andpreparations for washing
the skin, in the form of liquidor cream and madeavailable for retail sale,
whether or not containing
soap
5.6.1 Dental
Dental… Pharmaceutical goods;
amalgams
amalgams dental cements and otherdental fillings, bonereconstruction cements
Amalgams of precious
metals; etc.
5.6.2 Manometersand gauges

40

Manometer Devices for measuring
blood pressure

Remarks

Insecticides, rodenticides,
fungicides, herbicides, antisprouting products andplant growth regulators,
disinfectants and similar
products

3808993208-

Paints and varnishes towhich a mercury compound
has been added for its
biocidal or fungicidal
properties

3401

-

Soap and organic surfaceactive products andpreparations, in the form ofbars, cakes, moulded
pieces or shapes, andpaper, wadding, felt andnon-woven, impregnated,coated or covered withsoap or detergent

300640-

There is no distinct codefor mercury amalgam. This
code may include othertypes of dental fillings

3209
3304

284390901890Product/material
Use thisname in the Toolkit search word
Inventory Level 1

5.2.2 Gold (for all
extraction
techniques)Gold

Examples of product name(s) andcode(s) in the Comtrade (others may
exist)Names
HS codesOther instruments, including 902580
barometers, other
instruments: hygrometers
Instruments and apparatus
902620for pressure measurement
or control, manometers… Metals; gold, non710812 monetary, unwrought (butnot powder)… Metals; gold, semi710813
manufactured--

Remarks

This includes bars which
for the purposes ofmarketing have a smoothsurface and a hallmark.
Grains of silver and its
alloys are classified in thiscode, provided that they are
not powdered.
These codes exclude bars
obtained by drawing or
rolling.

41

4.5 Development of a mercury flow
diagram (case in Japan)
The term “material flow” or “mass flow” refers to the overall flow of a substance in a system bycapturing the input to and output from the system to the environment, along with the flow of thesubstance in each process and the flow of the substance between the processes within the system.
This section refers to the mercury material flow (MMF) developed in Japan as an overview of its
national mercury flow (MOEJ 2020). The MMF in Japan provides an overall picture of the domestic
flow of mercury. It identifies priority areas where further actions or greater attention may benecessary.
Meanwhile, "inventory" is often referred to the amounts of the substance released into theenvironment. In Japan, the “Mercury Atmospheric Emission Inventory” focusing on atmosphericemissions of mercury has also been developed. The MMF and the emission inventory are important
tools to support the process for reviewing the effectiveness of policy measures.

Composition of MMF
The MMF in Japan is composed of the information categorised in Table 13:

Table 13 Categories of MMF in Japan
Category
Raw minerals and fuelsComponent-

Import of raw minerals and fuels
Domestic production of raw minerals and fuels
Processing and industrial use of raw minerals and fuels
and waste incineration

Mercury and mercury
compounds
Mercury-added products-

Import and export of mercury and mercury compounds-

Production and trade of mercury-added products

Mercury wastes-

Mercury recovery from mercury wastes
Final disposal (landfilling)
Import of mercury wastes

Mercury emissions andreleases- Mercury emissions into the air- Mercury releases to water- Mercury releases to land
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

42

Raw minerals and fuels
Japan used the data from the trade statistics on imports of raw minerals and fuels and information
about their mercury concentrations obtained from interviews with relevant industry associations
and literatures in order to estimate the amount of mercury imported as impurities. Table 14 shows
an example of coal.
𝐻𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑠= 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑠 × 𝐻𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
The same approach can be applied for the domestic production of raw minerals and fuels.

Table 14 Mercury import as impurities in coal
Raw minerals and fuel
Coal

Anthracite
Bituminous coal
Other coals
Briquette, oval briquette,
etc.
LignitePeat
Coke, etc.
Information source

ImportAmountUnit
5,779
172,566
11,070
80
x103
t/yr
19
114
1,988
Trade Statistics

Hg concentration

0.039
g/t

Hg content

7,473
kgHg/yr

7.5
tHg/yrInterviews with the Federation
Estimationof Electric Power Companies
resultSource: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Based on interviews with relevant industry associations and individual companies, processing andindustrial uses of raw minerals and fuels and waste incineration which could be the potential sourceof mercury were identified.
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Non-ferrous metal smelting facility
Coal-fired power plant
Coal-fired industrial boiler
Primary iron production facility
Secondary iron production facility
Oil and gas production facility
Cement production facility
Waste incineration facility

The limitations to develop the material flow were the availability and reliability of data. Various
methodologies and information sources should be used to best estimate the amounts (quantitative43

data). For example, if the data on the target year for which the material flow is being developed is
not available, then the values of the nearest year, or the average values over several years should be
used for the calculation/ estimation.

Example: Coal-fired power plants
In the example of the mercury material flow for coal-fired power plants, interviews with relevant
industry associations were conducted to obtain data, which was extrapolated to the nation-wide
data. Data on input (coal consumption amount) and output (amount of fly ash, sludge etc.) was
obtained from the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. The information from thisFederation is limited to that of its member companies. Hence, the national data was estimated byextrapolating that amount to the national level by using the coal consumption ratio to cover thoseplants which do not participate in the Federation.
Electric Power Survey Statistics published by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy provides
a nation-wide data, but the data is limited to the amount of coal consumption only. The results of
the interview with the stakeholders, i.e., members of the Federation, include various data such as
the coal consumption, and generation/ utilization/ disposal of ash, gypsum and sludge.
In FY2016, the amount of coal consumption based on the statistics was 11,086 t/year while theamount based on the interview with the Federation was 7,310 t/year. The ratio of these amounts,
152:100, was used to extrapolate the generation, utilization and disposal amounts of coal ash (Table15), de-sulphurised gypsum (Table 16) and sludge generated at the national level.

Table 15 Coal-fired power generation: Mercury amount in generation, utilization and final disposal of
fly ash (FY2016)
Fly ashSurveyed data (100)Federation of ElectricPower Companies data
(10,000 t)
733.6
720.4
13.2

Extrapolated data (152)
Nationwide data
Mercury concentration(extrapolated)in fly ash (mg/kg）(10,000 t)
1,113
1,093
0.149
20

Mercuryamount in fly
ash (t-Hg)
1.7
1.6
0.030

Generation
Utilization
Final
disposal
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

44

Table 16 Coal-fired power generation: Mercury amounts in generation, utilization and final disposal of
gypsum (FY2016)
Flue gas
desulphurised
gypsumSurveyed data (100)Extrapolated data (152)

Federation of ElectricPower Companies data
(10,000 t)

Nationwide data
(extrapolated)(10,000 t)

Mercury concentrationin flue gas
desulphurised gypsum（mg/kg）

Generation

168.2

255

Utilization
Final disposal

167.5
0.70

254
1.1

Mercury in fluegas
desulphurised
gypsum (t-Hg)
1.1
1.1
0.0045

0.428

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Fly ash11,130,000 t

mercury: N.D.

1.7 t-Hg

1.6 t-Hg

Fly ash(cement)
7,650,000 t
1.1 t-Hg

25.2%
Fly ash(soil-contact
type
utilization)
2,750,000 ｔ
0.41 t-Hg

4.8%
Fly ash(non-soilcontact typeutilization)
530,000 ｔ
0.078 t-Hg

1.3 t-Hg

Desulphurizationequipment (wet)Clinker ash
1,210,000 t

Fly ash10,930,000 t

70%

Dust collector

4.3 t-Hg

Denitration equipment

110,858,826 t

BoilerCoal comsumption

Emission to air

Release to water
Hg concentration:: N.D.

Flue gas desulfurized
gypsum2,550,000 t
1.1 t-Hg

Sludge100,000 t
0.65 t-Hg

98%
2%
99.6%

0.4%

Fly ash(final disposal)
200,000 ｔ

Desulfurized
gypsum(utilization)
2,540,000 ｔ

Desulfurized
gypsum(final disposal)
11,000 ｔ

Sludge(utilization)
40,000 ｔ

Sludge(final disposal)
60,000 ｔ

0.030 t-Hg

1.1

0.0045 t-Hg

0.27 t-Hg

0.38 t-Hg

t-Hg

42%

58%

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Figure 4 Process example of coal-fired power plant

Example: Non-ferrous metal smelting facilities
As mercury is contained in input feeds (non-ferrous metal ore, recycled material), the outputs suchas sludge, sediment and wastewater from the flue gas treatment, by-product (gypsum), and slag
may contain mercury. This is an example where data is primarily obtained through Interviews withstakeholders. The Japanese Mining Industry Association covers the majority of non-ferrous metal

45

smelting facilities in Japan, and can collect data belonging to the individual facilities. An interview
was conducted to obtain data on the amounts of inputs and outputs and the mercury contents. The
estimated mercury emissions were obtained from the Mercury Atmospheric Emission Inventory.

Secondary refinery

Recycled material
1.1 t-Hg

ResidueRaw
product

Smelting
furnacesmelting
furnace,or final disposal

Dustcollector(detoxifying
tower)

smelting
furnace

Flue gas fromworking environment

Emission to air
1.4 t-Hg

Dust collector

INPUT

0.33 t-Hg

Waste-heatboilerSecondary material

Dryingfurnace

61 t-Hg

Dust collector

Non-ferrous metal ore

Rawproduct

Dustcollector(detoxifying
tower)

smelting
furnacesulfuric acid production

sulfuric acid, gypsum

Wastewater
treatment
gypsumFlue gas
treatment sludge

INPUT recycle

Slag(final disposal)

Hg recovery

0.45 t-Hg

gassolid, liquid

Absorption
tower

2.5 t-Hg

Filtering

0.42 t-Hg

Converter

By-productGas
purification

other waste

by-product(slag)

Dryingtower

Smelting
furnaceElectrolysis
process

product metal

46 t-Hg
INPUT
recycleResidue

Sediment(final disposal)

Wastewater

1.5 t-Hg

0.060 t-Hg

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Figure 5 Process example of non-ferrous metal smelting facility

Example: Cement production facilities
This third example is for the use of information about outputs partially from other facilities. The
mercury inputs with limestone, silica, sludge, and cinders/ash dust were obtained from the interview
with the Japan Cement Association. The data on fly ash, coal ash, and incineration residues was
taken from other sources, e.g., the interview with the Federation of Electric Power Companies.
The mercury emissions were estimated from the Mercury Atmospheric Emission Inventory(FY2016), where the general emission factor was multiplied by the production amounts of clinkers.

46

The emission factor (from FY 2014 inventory) was calculated by using data provided by voluntarymeasurements conducted by the Japan Cement Association.

Material

5.5 t-Hg

Limestone: 62,359,000 t
2.9 t-Hg

Emission to air
5.4 t-Hgmaterial pre-treatment

gas
solid

Silica: 3,451,000 t

From coal-fired
industrial boiler

Cementproduct

Dustcollector
Dust

Fly ash: 7,645,000 t(from coal-fired power plant)
1.1 t-Hg
Coal ash: 1,468,000 t(from coal-fired industrial boiler)
0.16 t-Hg

Cement crusher

Other material(clay, molding sand,blast furnace slag)

Clinkersilo

0.30 t-Hg

Rotarykiln

Incineration residue: 357,000 t(from municipal solid waste
incineration facility)

Finishing process

Pre-heater,
calcination furnace

From municipal
solid waste
incineration
facility

0.057 t-Hg

Dust collector

From coal-fired
power plant

Blending
tower

0.56 t-Hg
Cinders/ash dust: 1,534,000 t

Material crusher

0.41 t-Hg
Sludge: 3,052,000 t

Calcination process

Coal consumption: 6,475,000 t
0.50 t-Hg
Other fuel(waste wood, waste plastic,
heavy oil)

Desulfurized gypsum（from non-ferrous metal smelting
facility, coal-fired power plant, coalfired industrial boiler）

Less than

3.1

t-Hg

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Figure 6 Process example of cement production facility

Mercury and mercury compounds
The mercury import in FY2016 was 0.005 tons according to the supply and demand dynamics
statistics for non-ferrous metals. The three-year average of export amount in the same statistics
was 101 tons. (Table 17)
According to the interview with the Japan Lighting Manufacturers Association in FY2018, theamount of mercury contained in imported mercury alloys used for manufacturing lamps was 0.41
tons.

47

Table 17 Survey results of mercury export and import
Activity
ExportQuantity (t/year)
101 (India, Colombia, etc.)

PeriodAve. 2015-2017

Information source
Trade Statistics of Japan, Ministry of Finance(HS code: 2805.40-000)
Import 0.005 (USA)FY2016
Trade Statistics of Japan, Ministry of Finance(HS code: 2805.40-000)
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Mercury-added products
To calculate the amount of mercury contained in produced/imported/exported products, mercury
content per unit of each product was multiplied by the numbers of products produced, imported, or
exported.

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Figure 7 Mercury use for domestically manufactured mercury-added products (FY2016)

The total amount of mercury used in domestically manufactured products was estimated as 3.5
tons sown in Figure 7, while mercury contents in imported and exported products were estimatedas 0.88 tons and 1.1 tons, respectively.

Mercury wastes
Mercury recovery from mercury waste is extensively practiced in Japan. A survey targeting thebusiness entities involved in mercury recovery was conducted to obtain the amounts of mercury

48

recovered from the discarded mercury-added products, waste metallic mercury, sludge includingthat from non-ferrous smelting facilities, waste liquid, dental amalgam, silver oxide batteries, etc.
The total amount of mercury recovered from waste in FY2016 was 65 tons as shown in Table 18
with the largest amount recovered from non-ferrous metal smelting sludge.
Specified hazardous wastes imported to Japan classified as Y29 (containing mercury or mercury
compounds) under the Basel Convention is also included.

Table 18 Amounts of mercury recovered from mercury waste (FY2016)
Category(a) wastes consisting of
mercury(b) wastes contaminatedwith mercury(c) wastes containing
mercuryType of mercury wastes
Mercury discarded from business entities
Mercury discarded from schools anduniversities
Mercury discarded from lighthouses
Mercury discarded from hospitals
Mercury discarded from municipal waste
incineration facilities
Imported specified hazardous wastes
OthersSludge and waste liquid originated fromindustrial wastes
Non-ferrous metal smelting sludge
Dental amalgam (non-waste valuable)
Silver oxide batteries (non-waste valuable)
Measuring devices (thermometers andsphygmomanometers)
Lamps
Batteries
Dental amalgam (industrial waste)
Switches, relays, manometers

Recoveredmercury
4.5
1.1(unit:
ton)
8.2

0.1
0.9
0.3
0.9
0.4
2.4

49

46.6
0.2
0.004
6.8

7.7

0.3
0.3
0.08
0.2

Total
65
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

The amount of mercury contained in the final disposal of waste and residues generated from theprocessing/industrial use of raw materials and waste incineration was 7.8 tons as shown in Table
19. However, directly landfilled municipal waste was not included in the material flow since theamount of discarded mercury-added products to be landfilled as non-combustible waste was notavailable.

49

Table 19 Amount of mercury in final waste disposal
Emission source

MediumNon-ferrous metal smelting
facility
Coal-fired power plant

Coal-fired industrial boiler
Primary iron-manufacturing
plant
Secondary ironmanufacturing plant
Oil and natural gas
processing facility
Municipal solid waste
incineration facility
Industrial waste
incineration facility

Wastewater treatment sludge
Slag, etc.
Other waste
Fly ashFlue gas de-sulphurised gypsum
SludgeCoal ash
Flue gas de-sulphurised gypsum
Desulfurization sludge
Wet dust
Precipitator dust

Waste
disposas (t)
N/A
N/A
N/A
200,000
11,00060,00023,000
3,200
2,464
3,602
58,773

Hg contained in waste
disposal (t-Hg)
1.5
0.45
0.42
0.030
0.00450.38
0.00250.00360.021
0.0026
0.12

Wastewater treatment sludge

640 or more

N/A

Incineration residue

3,054,279

2.6

Ash dust
Cinders

N/A
2.2
N/A
Small amount
Total
7.8
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Mercury emissions and releases
Mercury emissions to the atmosphere (g/year) are estimated using two methods:▪
▪

𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (𝑚3 ⁄𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟) × 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑠 (𝑔_ 𝐻𝑔⁄𝑚3 )𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 (𝑡⁄𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟) × 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟

Table 20 summarizes the mercury emissions from each source category in Annex D.

Table 20 Mercury emissions to the atmosphere
Source category

Emission source

Sources listed
in Annex D of
the Minamata
Convention

Coal-fired power plants
Coal-fired industrial boilers
Smelting and roasting processes used in the production of nonferrous metals
Waste incineration
Municipal solid waste
Industrial waste
Sewerage sludge
Cement clinker production facilities

Emission (tHg/year)
1.3
0.22
1.4

1.5
2.4
1.4
5.4
Subtotal
14
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

50

Mercury releases to water is obtained from interviews with business organizations involved inprocessing/industrial use of raw minerals and manufacturers of mercury-added products, inaddition to the data obtained from the Japanese PRTR (Table 21).

Table 21 Mercury releases to water
Release source
Processing/industrial use of raw minerals
Production process of mercury-added products

Release(t-Hg)
0.060
0Information source
Interviews with industries
Interviews with industries

Mercury recovery process *1

0.00029

Interviews with industries

PRTR (Notification amount + Estimation ofamount not subject to notification due tothreshold) *2
Total

0.14

PRTR

0.20

Notes:*1: Includes releases from the treatment of wastewater from mines.
*2: Releases from "non-ferrous metal production" are excluded from the PRTR data to avoid the doublecounting with processing/industrial use of raw minerals.
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Mercury releases to land shown in Table 22 refers to the amount of mercury released to land fromthe portion that either comes in direct contact with, or gets mixed with soil, or is utilized by directly
spreading over the soil (e.g., Sewage sludge used as compost).

Table 22 Mercury releases to land
Release source
Release (t-Hg)
Information source
Coal-fired power plants (fly ash)
0.41Interviews with industries
Coal-fired industrial boilers (coal ash) 0.049
Interviews with industries
Other (sewage sludge)
0.12Interviews with industries
Total
0.58
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

51

4.6 Survey design and example
The development of a mercury material flow requires comprehensive data collection to quantify
each flow. There are several approaches to obtain such information.
▪
▪
▪
▪

Statistics
Interviews with stakeholders
Existing literatures
Questionnaire survey

Statistics and interviews with stakeholders
The mercury content in imported raw minerals and fuels (t-Hg/year) is calculated from the amountof imported raw minerals and fuels (t/year) multiplied by the mercury concentration (g/t). The data
used for the amounts of imported raw minerals and fuels is from the Trade Statistics, and ElectricPower Survey Statistics of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. The mercury concentration
information is collected from research data and interviews with stakeholders.
𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑠= 𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑒𝑙𝑠 × 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
The amount of imported/exported elemental mercury relies on the HS code. The mercury content
and concentration in imported coal were determined using a mixture of different data collection
methods, such as the trade statistics and interviews with stakeholders.
The mercury content in produced or traded products is calculated from the amount of trade or
produced products multiplied by the mercury content of each product, and these data have beencollected through interviews with product manufacturers. Another example of specific information
gained from interviews with stakeholders is the mercury used for domestic production, and mercury
contents in the imported and exported products, for different types of mercury grouped by productcategory.

Interviews with stakeholders
Interviews with industries are direct means of obtaining relevant information for mercury flow
development. Such interviews cover items including the amounts of mercury used for
manufacturing products, the amounts of mercury in the imported/exported products, and mercury
emissions/releases to the environment through the manufacturing processes. Usually, different

52ministries supervise particular industries, thus coordinated contact with the relevant industries isimportant. The following diagram (Figure 8) shows an example in Japan.

Ministry of Environment, Japan

Ministry of Economy, Tradeand Industry

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism

Battery Association of Japan

Japan Mining Industry
Association

Japan Lighting
Manufacturers Association

The Federation of ElectricPower Companies in Japan

Japan Scientific Instruments
Association

Manufacturer of mercuryadded products

The Japan Federation of
Medical Devices
Associations

Mercury recycling company

Japan Coast Guard

Figure 8 Data collection by interviewing stakeholders

The following information in Table 23 was obtained through interviews with the industries.

Table 23 Information obtained through interview with stakeholders
Product Category

CY2016

Hg inimported
products(t-Hg)
Unknown

Hg inexported
products(t-Hg)
0

FY20160.12

CY20160

0.11

FY20160.010

CY2016

0.61

0.025

FY2016

Mercury containing dry cells

0

CY2016

Unknown0

FY2016

Switches and relays

Button batteries

Lamps

Alkaline manganese

Hg used fordomestic
production(t-Hg)0

Zinc silver oxide
Zinc air

PeriodPeriod

0.44

FY2016

Unknown

0.33

FY2016

Fluorescent lamps

0.81

FY2016

0.13

0.017

FY2016

HID lamps

0.31

FY2016

0.074

0.15

FY2016

Neon lamps

0.017

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

FY201653

Product Category

Measuring
devicesGlass mercury
thermometers
Mercury-filled
thermometers
High temperature
diaphragm seal
manometers
Reference liquidcolumn manometers
Liquid column
barometers
Vacuum gauges

Hg used fordomestic
production(t-Hg)
0.21

PeriodFY2016

Hg inimported
products(t-Hg)
0.0050Hg inexported
products(t-Hg)
0.019

Period0.011

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

0.021

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

0.0030FY20160

0

FY20160

FY2016

Unknown0

FY20160.049

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

FY2016

Medicalmeasuring
devices
Dental mercury

Mercury thermometers

0

FY20160.062

0FY2016

Sphygmomanometers

0.56

CY20160

0.48

CY20160

FY20160

0

FY2016

Pharmaceuticals

Vaccine preservatives

0.00016

FY20160.000130

FY2016Merbromin solution

0.010

FY20160

0

FY2016

Products containing
merbromin solution
Vermilion (mercury
sulphide)
Mercury compounds

0.00077

FY20160

0

FY20160.91

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

0.044

FY2016

Unknown

Unknown

0.88

1.1

Inorganic
chemicals
Total

3.5

Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Existing literatures
Using existing literature, such as the mercury emission inventory developed by Ministry of theEnvironment, Japan is another option. In Japan, mercury emissions to the atmosphere (g/year) are
estimated either by the amounts of flue gas emissions (m3/year) multiplied by the mercury
concentration of flue gas (g/m3), or the activity rate (g/year) multiplied by the mercury emission
factor. Both the amounts of flue gas emissions and activity rate are data obtained from industries,
while the mercury concentration of flue gas and emission factor rely on monitored and researched
data. This type of information is compiled and integrated into the mercury emission inventory andmercury material flow, which have been periodically published by the Ministry.

54Questionnaire survey
In Japan, a questionnaire survey for waste treaters was employed to gather information about
mercury recovery or relevant emissions, and mercury releases to the environment in the waste
processing. The questionnaire survey focused on the waste treatment companies who have alicense to treat industrial mercury waste.
The questionnaire received 179 responses from about 293 targets, resulting in approximately 61%
of response rate. The questions included the types and amounts of waste mercury added to the
products treated, the purity of the elemental mercury recovered from waste, how to handle themercury recovered from waste, and the types of waste treated other than mercury added products,
as summarized in Table 24. The data demonstrated that mercury was recovered from different
types of mercury waste, and also showed how much mercury was recovered from different types ofwaste of mercury-added products. The origins of recovered mercury were the industrial waste andmunicipal waste.

Table 24 Mercury recovered from waste mercury-added products (FY2014, actual values)
Discarded product typeIntermediate treatment* (t)Industrial
Non-industrial
waste
waste
20.8370.084
1,428.224
11,215.069
13.2140
7,384.3
4,477.318
58.1930
122.0150.473
2,386.122
0
0.657
0
3.931
0.318
13.125
0.824

Recovered mercury (t)Industrial Non-industrial
waste
waste
Button batteries
0.042
0Dry cell batteries
0.029
0.224
Switches & relays
0.13
0Fluorescent lamps
0.226
0.179
Cold cathode fluorescent lamps
0.002
0HID lamps
0.012
0Lamps (mixed)
0.087
0Measuring devices for industrial use
0.096
0Mercury thermometers
0.289
0.031
Sphygmomanometers
0.63
0.041
Total
1.544
0.475
Note: * Intermediate treatment of waste includes crushing/sorting, incineration melting, cement solidification,
mercury sulphuration and mercury recovery
Source: Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).

Comparison of data collection methods
The advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of different methodologies are summarised inTable 25:

55

Table 25 Advantages, disadvantages and limitations of different data collection methods
Advantage

Disadvantage

Limitation

Statistics-

High credibility
Nationwide
data coverage-

Data is modified irregularly
due to the changes in datacollection and compilation
methods.

-

Availability of data

Interviews
withstakeholders-

Efficient datacollection-

Industry associations may
not always have relevant
data of affiliated companies.
Individual companies may
not accept interviews.
Time-consuming-

Can only be used if
relevant associations exist
and collect data necessary
for the mercury material
flow.
Interviews with association
or individual company may
not cover the nation-widesituation.

Period of data coverage may
be different depending onliteratures.
Some values need to betreated as reference values
for limited samples.

-

Availability of literatures

Data collection andcompilation are resource
intensive.
Response rate may not be
high.

-

Can only be undertaken if
there is enough time andhuman resources.

-

Existing
literatures-

Questionnaire
surveys-

Efficient datacollection
Less resourceintensive-

Comprehensive
data collection

-

-

-

-

It is important to plan to secure enough resources, including human resources and time whenplanning for data collection. Recently in Japan, the mercury material flow has been developed every
three years. Developing a roadmap including the target facilities and the data collection methods
was undertaken in the first year. The information sources for data collection and concrete
estimation method to estimate the mercury flow were developed in the following two years basedon the roadmap. Therefore, it is necessary to plan well ahead.
The development of the flow is a resource-intensive work. Therefore, it is necessary to understandwhich information is available or mission to realise efficient data collection. By building upon
available information, the survey should be able to have a strategy to secure resources to fill thedata gaps.
If data collection is started without having an outlook on the estimation method, it may become
necessary to return to the data collection step in the last stage. Therefore, identifying an estimation
method before data collection is highly recommended for efficiency. Sometimes, combining
different methods is effective to address the cases where uncertainty arises.

56

Coordination or cooperation with relevant departments and ministries is important for the datacollection. Each department or ministry administers different sectors and stakeholders. Better
coordination results in better information.
Alternative approaches should be considered if data cannot be obtained because relevant industry
association does not exist in the country, or if it exists but does not have relevant data. It will be
important to learn from other countries experiences, such as Japan's mercury material flow, or learn
from material flows of other substances.
Inputs from experts will enhance the credibility of the flow, so consulting with relevant experts isparticularly useful when data uncertainty arises. Formulating an expert committee on the material
flow is useful to ensure the transparency of the results especially if the flow will be published by agovernment agency.

57

4.7 Example to address uncertainty
Table 26 shows a hypothetical example on considering uncertainties and intervals. It provides agood illustrative case study of how to handle data, uncertainty and ranges. Due to the severe
competition, many manufacturers do not wish to indicate their own consumption. However, they aresometimes willing to provide an estimate of the total consumption for the field of application. This
indicates that the exact values of internal data are often part of business confidentiality, butestimated market values are more openly discussed.

Table 26 Example to address uncertainty
Case
General introduction
This box describes an example of the collection and evaluation of data from manufacturers. The example
is hypothetical, but may be considered representative of the type of assessment to be carried out as partof substance flow analyses for chemical substance at the national level.
Based on statistical information, the annual consumption of the substance X for manufacturing ofproducts in Denmark is known to be approximately 1,500 tons. It is also known that this consumption is
distributed over the fields of applications A, B, C, D and E. The task is to determine the flows as precisely
as possible.
For the field of application A, the Danish Technological Institute informs that three large-scale
manufacturers exist in Denmark each of which has a market share of 20-30 % besides five to six smallscale manufacturers. It is decided to collect information from the three large manufacturers as well as
two small ones. Due to severe competition, most manufacturers do not wish to indicate their own
consumptions. However, they are willing to provide an estimate of the total consumption for the field of
application A in Denmark. The following information is obtained:
Manufacturer 1: Total consumption estimated at 200-250 tons
Manufacturer 2: Total consumption estimated at 200-300 tons
Manufacturer 3: Total consumption estimated at approximately 250 tons
Manufacturer 4: Own consumption approx. 2 tonnes. Market share estimated at 5-10 %Manufacturer 5: Total consumption estimated at 100-200 tons
As the manufacturers 1-3 are the ‘large-scale’ manufacturers, they are presumed to have a better
impression of the market than the manufacturers 4-5. The preliminary figure for the consumption within
the field of application A is therefore estimated at 250 tons with an inaccuracy of ± 50 tons.
The final figure can only be determined when information has been collected for all the fields ofapplications A-E. The total consumption estimated on the basis of the information collected from the
manufacturers amounts to 1,500-1,800 tons. As the statistical information is considered to be reasonably
reliable (at any rate, more reliable than much of the information obtained from the manufacturers), thetotal consumption for the fields of applications A-E is estimated to be approximately 1,500 tons.
Consequently, the information for each field of application has to be re-evaluated in order to find out
where there is any estimate that may be too high. As a result of this re-evaluation, it is decided to change
the estimate for field application A to approximately 200 tons with an inaccuracy margin of ± 50 tons.
Source: Lassen and Hansen (2000). Paradigm for substance flow analyses.

584.8 Report preparation: principles andprocesses
Reporting principles
It is important to highlight the key data needed for mass flow in the report. The activity rates comingfrom import, production, and export data, as well as any local input factors and output distribution
factors should be presented. Associated information may be annexed to the main report with fullreferences for example:▪
▪

Personal contacts: Institution's name, institution's city, contact person, date of contact
Literature: Author, year of publication, title of publication, institution or publisher, city,
country

Data uncertainty should be discussed in the report as transparent as possible. It is a good scientificprinciple to discuss the uncertainty for the benefit of the readers. The best available approximation
is much better than omitting data with uncertainty. The data gaps should also be reported so thatthe readers can differentiate between assessed zero and no data obtained. In the report, explicit
expression of ‘no data’ should be placed instead of leaving table cells empty.
Finally, full references to all the data used are presented in the report. This is important for following
up the results and updating the information. It also informs the global community that the data in
the report is valuable and reliable.

Chapter outlines
The document should be prepared in a logical sequence. An indicative structure of the report isshown in Table 27. Firstly, the mercury source in question is introduced briefly. Then, the hard facts
obtained during the research are presented. They will include quantitative figures on import, export,
production, output scenarios on which mercury controls are installed, output distribution factors,
input factors and so fourth.
In most cases, the hard facts will be incomplete and supplemented by indicative evidence. For
example, trade data for liquid-filled thermometers in the statistics do not say whether they containmercury or not. Thus, the indicative evidence is the interview with importers to estimate how muchof the statistical figures actually consist of mercury-filled thermometers. The indicative evidence
will include partial data, assumptions, approximations and extrapolations, unit conversions and soon, which should be explained very explicitly.

59

The next section discusses the data used in the calculations with sufficient judgement based on theinformation assessed. The report is concluded with the data gaps to indicate the weakness ofevidence and for future follow up.

Table 27 Indicative structure of mercury flow analysis report
Chapter
General introduction
Hard facts for nationalsituation

Content-

Remarks

Activity rates: Import, production, export
Output scenarios (filters, etc.), output
distribution factors
Input factors (mercury
content/concentration)-

Data andobservations-

Report very
explicitly

Indicative evidence-

Partial data
Assumptions
Approximations and extrapolations
Unit conversions

Discussion and assessment
on data to use in calculations-

Conclude by choosing and listing data to beused

Data gaps for future follow up

Review by stakeholders and feedback incorporation
Once the report is drafted, it is recommended to have it reviewed by stakeholders and incorporate
useful feedback into the report. Selected resource persons with relevant expertise in key internal
stakeholders such as organizations composing of the mercury mass flow developing team will be
invited for review.
In some cases, external key stakeholders such as industrial associations may also be invited forreview before publication. They may provide additional useful information or at least theirstandpoints to the results. The feedback does not have to be reflected in full, but useful and reliable
feedback can be incorporated into the report.

60

4.9 Physical and chemical properties,
usage, and environmental behaviours of
mercury
Physical and chemical properties of mercury
Mercury is a chemical element that exists in various forms with unique physical properties. With an
atomic number of 80, which is next to gold, mercury is the only metal element that exists in liquid
form at normal temperatures. In addition, mercury has a low boiling point among metallic elements,
and it is volatile with a high vapour pressure. The abundance of mercury in Earth’s crust is similar
to that of silver, but mercury has a much lower market price than precious metals.

Table 28 Physical properties of elemental mercury
Physical properties
Atomic number: 80
Atomic weight: 200.59
Melting point: -38.8 °C
Boiling point: 356 °C
Specific gravity: 13.6 at 0 °C
Thermal conductivity: 8.3 W/m°C
Saturated vapor concentration: 13.2 mg/m3 at 20 °C
Abundance in Earth's crust: 0.05 - 0.08 ppm
Emission spectrum at ultra-violet band: 254 nm (UV-C)
Forming amalgam with many metallic elements

Source: Japan, National Institute for Minamata Disease (2013). Mercury and health V4.1.

Figure 9 Molecular similarity of methylmercury-cysteine complex and methionine

61

Methylmercury is a mercury compound of great concern due to its high toxicity. Methylmercury
binds cysteine, a kind of amino acid, to form a complex with a molecular structure similar tomethionine, an essential amino acid (Figure 9). Due to this similarity, the complex is actively
absorbed via an amino acid transporter. Then, it is incorporated into body tissues made of protein
including the brain and fetus.
Most mercury and mercury compounds have certain toxicities, but their biological behaviours andtoxicity levels differ. Main exposure pathways, symptom and treatment for three types of mercury
and mercury compounds are shown in Table 29. The absorption rates of inhaled elemental mercury
and ingested methylmercury are very high, while the absorption rate of inorganic mercury is rather
low. Ingested elemental mercury is usually directly excreted without absorption. Absorbed mercury
is gradually oxidized and excreted in urine as inorganic mercury. Elemental mercury passes throughthe blood-brain barrier and causes mercury poisoning of the central nervous system. Accidental
high-level exposure to mercury vapour in the workplace can be fatal, but acute symptoms are usually
reversible. The symptoms of chronic low-level exposure to elemental mercury were known as madhatter’s disease. Methylmercury is transported actively to form body tissues made of protein. The
adverse effects depend on the body parts into which methylmercury is incorporated. Ingested
inorganic mercury causes inflammation of the digestive tract and kidney damages if the amount isvery high. Acute mercury exposure is usually treated by stimulating the excretion. For chronic
exposure, stopping exposure is the most important measure.

Table 29 Exposure pathway, symptom and treatment
Elemental Mercury
Exposure
pathway(absorption
rate)

-

Behaviourand fate--

62

Inorganic Mercury

Inhalation (75-85%)
Ingestion (0.01% or less).

-

Unoxidized form passes
through blood-brain barrier(by diffusion)
Gradually oxidized todivalent inorganic mercury--

Methylmercury

Ingestion (5-10% or
less)
Dermal (not expected
to be high).

-

Ingestion (90% or more)

Excreted in urine-

Passes through bloodbrain and placenta
barrier (by amino acidtransportation)
Gradually oxidized todivalent inorganic
mercury-Elemental Mercury
Symptom-

Treatment-

Inorganic Mercury

Respiratory distressCentral nervous systemeffects (tremor,
personality change, toothpain, excessive salivation)
Referred to as ‘madhatter’s disease’--

Methylmercury

Corrosion in digestive
tract (vomiting, chest
pain, abdominal pain,
and bloody diarrhoea)
Kidney damage
Renal insufficiency--

Central nervous systemeffects (sensory nerve
dysfunction, ataxia, andconstriction of visual
field)
Fetal exposure (nonspecific cerebral palsylike features)

Gastric lavage,- No effective treatment
excretion withchelating agent
Source: Japan Public Health Association (2001). Preventive Measures against Environmental Mercury
Pollution and Its Health Effects.
Stimulation of mercury
excretion-

Mercury products and uses
Mercury is one of a few elements known since ancient times. It has been used for various purposes
for many thousands of years as shown in Figure 10. Red pigments and the preservation of corpses
are among the oldest applications. The demand of mercury has increased as new uses have been
invented over time. The supply side, that is, mercury mining, has also been well developed to support
the demand for mercury. Today, some mercury-added products and processes have been replaced
by non-mercury alternatives, but many are still widely used globally. The Minamata Convention
controls the products and processes stipulated in the Annexes, but even after phase out, mercury
waste will continue to be generated for a long time. Thus, proper management of mercury waste isvery important.
New Almaden
Almadén
Idrija(USA)(Spain)(Slovenia)
Red pigments
Corpse preservation
Gold plating
Pharmaceuticals
AlchemyCosmetics
Gold & silver extraction
Vacuum pumps & gauges
Temperature & pressure measurement
Dental restoration
Explosives
Electrolysis
Discharge tubes
Pesticides & antiseptic
Batteries
Catalysts
Switches & relays

Mercury mines:

3000

BC/AD

1000

1500

1800

1900

Itomuka(Japan)Control underMinamata
Convention

Annex A I
Annex A I
Annex C
Annex A I
Annex A II
Annex B
Annex A I
Annex A I
Annex A I
Annex B
Annex A I
1950

2000 Year

Figure 10 Historical mercury supply and use

63As shown in Figure 11, global mercury use is estimated to be approximately 4700 tons per year asof 2015. Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the largest mercury consumer, and Asia, Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions consuming a large amount of mercury.

Electrical andelectronic devices
3%
Lamps
Other
3%
7%
Measuring andcontrol devices
7%
Dental application
6%
Batteries
5%

Total 4715 tons
(2015)

Chlor-alkali
production
6%

EU
5%

North
America3%

CIS & non-EU
Europe4%
ASGM
37%

Oceania
0.5%

Latin
America &Caribbeans
19%

VCM
production
26%

Middleeast
2%

Total 4715 tons
(2015)

Asia
57%

Africa10%

Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2017). Global mercury supply, trade and demand.

Figure 11 Global mercury uses by sector and by region

Use of elemental mercury
Elemental mercury is used for measuring purposes. As a high-density liquid, it is suitable formeasuring pressure. Devices such as manometers, barometers, and sphygmomanometers, enableprecise pressure measurement without using electricity. For official purposes, “mmHg” or “inHg”
can still be used as non-SI units of measurement. Mercury is also useful for measuring temperature
because it exists in liquid form in a wide temperature range (-38.8 °C to 356 °C). As a metallic
element, mercury has high a thermal conductivity, which provides a quick response. These mercuryadded measuring devices are subject to phase out under the Minamata Convention.
A discharge tube is an electronic device that contains gas or vapour at low pressure, and throughwhich conduction takes place when a high voltage is applied. The mercury arc rectifier was animportant device for converting high voltage alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). As
modern electricity supply networks were developed with AC, rectification was required if the industry
required DC. Today, this function is mostly performed by power semiconductors. Several gaseous64elements, including mercury vapour, emit various wavelengths of light. Mercury discharges ultraviolet ray (UV-C) which is invisible to humans. As UV-C damages DNA, mercury vapour lamps areused for microbial disinfection. Fluorescent lamps convert UV-C to visible light for lighting
applications. The light emitted from discharge tubes are also used for various lighting applications,such as indoor and outdoor lighting, signage, and the headlamps of vehicles.
As mercury is electrically conductive, it is used for various electric controls. The mercury switch has
several advantages for closing and opening electrical circuits. As the contact surface is concealed,
no oxidation occurs, and the surface remains clean with a low resistance due to the wetting natureof mercury. Application includes: tilt switches to activate lights on the boot lids of vehicles, rollover
warning device for vending machines, anti-lock braking systems that detect acceleration force, highspeed switch as mercury relay does not cause chattering, and mercury slip rings that transmit
signals or power to devices over 360° of rotation.
Mercury is added to batteries for safety purposes to prevent hydrogen gas generation. Abnormal
reactions at the zinc anode causes cell rupture or leakage, but mercury inhibits such abnormal
reactions. Although most dry cells have stopped using mercury, a few types of button cells still use
mercury for this purpose. Lithium coin cells do not use water as the electrolyte, so no mercury isadded.
Elemental mercury is also used for many other purposes. Some are being phased out as nonmercury alternatives are becoming increasingly available. It is important to be aware that not alluses of mercury are subject to the Minamata Convention, so legitimate uses of mercury will remain.
The applications of elemental mercury are summarized in Table 30.

Table 30 Applications of elemental mercury
Type
Measuring
devices

Theory / Principle-

High density
liquidApplication-

Manometer (pressure insystem, facility, etc.)
Barometer (atmosphericpressure)
Sphygmomanometer (bloodpressure)

Remarks--

No electric supply
required.
No equivalent alternative
for high temperaturedevices.
Extensively used formeasuring bloodpressure.

65

Type
Ditto

Theory / Principle--

Discharge
tubes-

Application

Liquid in wide
temperature
range
High thermal
conductivity-

Electric valve
effect-Remarks

Thermometer (temperature)
Hygrometer (wet bulb, relative
humidity)-

Mercury arc rectifier (rectifying
high voltage AC to DC)

-

-

Ditto

-

Emitting UV-C
(254nm)-Switches
and relays-

Electricallyconductive liquid
Wetting effect on
contact surface-

Neon lamp (signage, display)
Fluorescent lamp (lighting)High-pressure discharge lamp
(projection, lighting, suntanning, headlamp of vehicles)
Low pressure mercury vapour
lamp (disinfection)-

Tilt switch/alarm (activating
lights for boot lids of vehicles)
Acceleration censor (anti-lockbraking systems)
Mercury-wetted relay(power/signal transmission for
360° rotating devices)

-

-

-

No electric supply
required.
Quick response.
No equivalent alternative
for high temperaturedevice.
Large power supply
capacity for industries
requiring DC.
Largely replaced bypower semiconductors.
No filament in bulb, longlife.
UV-C emitting efficiency
is higher than LED.

Low resistance and nochattering at contact
surface.
Allows high frequency
switching.

Batteries-

Hydrogenoverpotential-

Button cell (preventinghydrogen gas generation atzinc anode)-

Lithium coin cell does
not use water, thus nomercury is added.

Vacuumpumps-

High density
liquidAir induction-

Mercury column pump (1Pa)
Mercury rotary pump (10-2Pa)
Mercury diffusion pump (103Pa)-

Replaced with oil-based
fluid.

Balancers-

High density
liquid-Wheel balancer
Trim and heel controller(submarines)-

Non-mercury (solid)balancers are available.

Laboratory
instruments-

High surface
tension-Porosimeter-

Used to analyse porosityof material surfaces.

Fluidbearings-

High density
liquid-Lighthouse rotation unit-

Floating Fresnel lens.

Electric
conductors-

Electricallyconductive liquid-

Slip ring (360° rotation)-

Brushless contact.

Mirrors-

Liquid with highreflectance-

Liquid zenith telescope-

Rotating mirror to form
paraboloid mirror.

Propellants-

Easy ionization-

Ion thruster (satellites)-

Replaced by xenon.

66

Use of amalgam
Mercury can form various alloys with other metals, which are called amalgam. Amalgam has been
an important material for many industries as final products or in production processes. Dental
amalgam is a mixture of silver and tin powder, which is gradually hardened to fill dental cavities. Tin
amalgam was used for the reflective surfaces of mirrors.
Gold and silver extraction and refining have been practised for many thousands of years. The oldest
method called cupellation used lead and was invented in BC era. There was a risk for lead poisoning
with this method. The amalgamation method was then invented in the 16th century, when silvermining in Latin America was at its peak. Due to the melting and boiling points of mercury being
lower than those of lead, the consumption of heat sources, i.e., firewood, was reduced, which
preserved forests in the region. The amalgamation method for ASGM accounts for the largest usageof mercury today and disproportionally affects marginalised and less privileged groups. The cyanide
method was invented in the late 19th century during the Gold Rush era. This method is currently
predominantly used for large-scale gold mining operations, but its application to ASGM is being
explored.
NaCl, which is the chemical form of edible salt, can generate chlorine gas and caustic soda byelectrolysis. Caustic soda is used for manufacturing products such as soap and glass, and chlorine
gas is used for producing disinfection and bleaching agents as well as PVC. Mercury is used as theelectrode for the mercury-cell process, which was invented in the early 20th century and still is usedin some countries. Chlorine ions are oxidized at the anode and become chlorine gas. On the cathodeside, where mercury is used, sodium ions are reduced to metallic sodium, which forms an amalgam
with mercury. The sodium amalgam is then sent to an amalgam decomposer, where caustic soda
is formed. The key to this electrolysis process is blocking sodium back-flow to the anode side. The
diaphragm process physically blocks this backflow with the fibrinous structure of asbestos. Thissystem is still used, but the risk of asbestos is a concern. The membrane process has a similar
configuration to the diaphragm process, but an ion exchange membrane allows the selective
permeation of sodium ions to the cathode side, which is more energy efficient and avoids toxic
substances.
Special applications of amalgam includes low-temperature thermometers with thallium amalgam,
which is melting temperature of approximately minus 60 °C. However, mercury is problematic in theoil and gas sector. Mercury erodes aluminium equipment, such as heat exchangers, and inactivates
palladium-based catalysts. The applications of amalgam are summarized in Table 31.

67

Table 31 Applications of amalgam
Type
Dental filling

Theory / Principle-

Gradually
hardening after
mixingApplication-

Dental cavity restoration(filling silver tin amalgam into
dental cavities)

Remarks-

Gold/ silver
industry--

Absorption of
metallicelements
Low boiling point--

Gold/silver extraction(predominantly used for
ASGM)Gold plating (gold amalgam issmeared on metallic surface
and then heated)--

No electric supply
required.
Mercury waste isreleased into drainage.
Mercury is gradually
vapourised in the mouth.
Workers and somecommunity members
are exposed to mercury
vapour.
Cyanide method is analternative for extraction
but requires higher
management skill.

Mirrorsurfaces-

Gradually
hardening after
mixing-Mirror (tin amalgam forms thereflective surfaces)-

Replaced by silver mirror
reaction.

Electrolysis-

Absorption of
metallicelements-

Chlor-alkali production(separating sodium from brine
after electrolysis)-

Ion exchange membraneprocess is an alternativewith a higher energy
efficiency.

Measuring
devices-

Low temperature
alloy

-

Low temperature thermometer-

Melting temperature ofthallium amalgam is 60oC.

Oil and gas(problematic)-

Creating
unwanted
amalgam-

Aluminium equipment (eroding
surface of equipment)
Palladium catalyst(inactivating the catalytic
function)-

Mercury removal
process should beinstalled in the system.

-

Use of mercury compounds
Mercury sulphide is naturally found as cinnabar, which exists as blood red crystals or dark red
stones. Red is one of the oldest colours that humans have intentionally used since the pre-historicera. Three major red pigments have been used. Iron oxide provides brownish red, and is easily
available from red clay soil. By contract, mercury sulphide needs laborious refinement from ore, so
it was an expensive pigment. It can also be synthesized from mercury and sulphur. Due to its
preciousness, mercury sulphide was used for more important occasions, such as ceremonial andreligious purposes. Lead oxide is also a synthesized pigment with a bright orange colour.
Cosmetics also use colour, which are predominantly consumed by women. Red, white, and black
are the three base colours for cosmetics. Red pigments, such as cinnabar, were used for68bodypainting in some indigenous societies. More broadly, white face powder has been used for
makeup. Calomel, mercury (I) chloride, is a white powder used for such purposes. Other chemicals,
including lead white and talc, have also been used. Lead poisoning by face powder was problematicin the past few centuries. Currently, concerns have been raised about talc, which contains asbestos
as an impurity. Mercury use for skin-whitening cream is another concern, as it is still widely used
globally. The preference to lighter coloured skin is still prevalent in many countries where the skincare industry keeps feeding illegal products into market.
The ‘biocidal action’ of mercury is used for fungicides and preservatives. Organic mercury
compounds such as phenylmercury have been used for seed dressing, as fungicides for crops suchas rice and wheat. Among inorganic mercury compounds, mercury chloride has been used for woodpreservation and red mercury oxide has been used for anti-fouling ship paint. In some products thatare directly applied to humans, mercury compounds are still used as preserving agents. For example,
thiomersal preserves vaccines at normal temperatures, which is important when providing vaccines
to remote areas where no cold chain is available.
Mercury has been used in pharmaceuticals since ancient times. Traditional Chinese and Ayurveda
medicines still include mercury products. One of the most significant historical uses of mercury forpharmaceutical purposes is the treatment of syphilis patients. Syphilis emerged in the late 15th
century and rapidly spread over the globe. Many types of mercury compounds were used for medical
treatment from the 16th century until being replaced by penicillin in the 1940s. Mercurochrome is awater solution of the organic mercury compound merbromin, which was invented in the early 20th
century and has been widely used for treating minor wounds. Its less painful nature and cheap priceallowed various applications in both clinical and household settings. Mercury inhibits the growth of
microorganisms. This characteristic has been used for many preservation and antiseptic purposes.
A catalyst is a substance that facilitate or accelerates a chemical reaction, but its form remains
unchanged. The elements in the zinc group, which includes mercury, have been used as catalysts
for organic synthesis, particularly for the production of vinyl polymers by accelerating addition
reactions from acetylene. The catalysts form intermediate compounds to promote addition
reactions. Minamata disease was caused by the mercury catalyst, mainly mercury (II) sulphate, used
for acetaldehyde production, which was methylated in the factory and then released into theenvironment. To avoid the use of mercury, ethylene can be used for the feedstock instead ofacetylene. Another type of catalyst is the initiator for polymerising polyurethane elastomer, called
latent catalyst, which triggers the process in moulded products or coatings. There are many typesof mercury and non-mercury catalyst used as the latent catalyst, among which phenylmercury

69

acetate is commonly used for this purpose. Although mercury acts as a catalyst for this process, itremains in the final product.
Batteries, especially chemical batteries utilize the oxidation and reduction of chemical compounds
to store electricity. The mercury cell is a type of battery that has mercury oxide cathode. Onceelectricity is consumed, mercury oxide is reduced to metallic mercury, which flows out of thecathode. This product is subject to phase out under the Convention. However, mercury use forresearch, calibration, and reference is exempt from the Convention, so standard cells such as theWeston cell are not subject to phase out.
Various mercury compounds are used for many other purposes. One of historical uses is mercury(II) nitrate for hat making. A process called ‘carroting’ was extensively used for the preparation of
felt. Mercury (II) fulminate was also an important mercury compound used extensively during wars
as a material for the detonation caps of explosives. A new use has been examined for mercury (II)sulphide for the final disposal of mercury waste because stabilisation is required in some countries
to dispose of mercury. The applications of mercury compounds are summarized in Table 32.

Table 32 Applications of mercury compounds
Type
Mercurysulphide/
cinnabar

Theory / Principle--

Low solubility
and stablechemical form.
Reddish colour

Application--

Mercury (I)chloride /calomelMercury (II)
oxide

-

-

-

70

Bactericidal &fungicidal actions
White colour
Stable electrodepotential-

Forming liquidmercury once
reducedBiocidal action-

Remarks

Red pigment (vermillion
refined from cinnabar orsynthesised from mercury
and sulphur).
Bodypainting (ancientindigenous custom)
Waste mercury (stabilisation
for final disposal)-

Iron oxide (brownish
red ochre) and leadoxide (bright orangered) have also beenused.

Pharmaceuticals (syphilis)
White face powder
Saturated calomel electrode-

Lead white (leadpoisoning), talc
(contaminated withasbestos).
Silver chloride
reference electrode isan alternative.

--

Battery (cathode for mercury
cell)
Antifouling paint for ship’s
bottom--Mercury cell has been
replaced with nonmercury alternatives.
Replaced with copperbased ship paint.

Type
Mercury (II)sulphate

Theory / Principle--

Application

Forming
intermediate withacetylene
Forming liquidmercury once
reduced-Remarks--

Catalyst (acetaldehyde
production)
Weston standard cell
(producing highly stable
voltage for calibration)

Acetylene-based
acetaldehyde
production has been
replaced with ethylenebased system.

Mercury (II)nitrate-Fulling fur-

Carroting (preparation of felt)-

Extensively used for hat
making in the 19th
century.

Mercury (II)chloride-

Bactericidal &fungicidal actions
Water solubility
Reducing silver
halide (photo)
Forming
intermediate withacetylene-

Fungicide (woodpreservation, seed dressing)Preservative (pulp & paper)Standard solution (mercury
analysis)Push-processing for photo,motion picture and X-ray
films
Catalyst (vinyl chloride
monomer production)-

Volatile compound,which sublimateseasily.

Skin whitening cream(bleaching melamine)
Antiseptic ointment-

Widely used indeveloping countries.

Fungicide (seed dressing
against rice blight)
Preservative (for latex paint,
pulp & paper)
Latent catalyst (polyurethane
elastomer)-

Widely used in paddy
fields.

--Ammoniated(II) mercury
Phenylmercury-

Bleaching effectInhibition ofbacterial growth-

Bactericidal &fungicidal actions
Initiating
polymerization
reaction---

Thiomersal-

Bactericidal
action-Preservative (vaccines andeye area cosmetics)-

Vaccines can be stored
at normal temperatures
without refrigeration.

Merbromin--

Mercurochrome (topicalantiseptic for minor wounds)-

Less absorbed fromskin surface (due tohydrophilic nature).

-

Inhibition ofbacterial growth
Water solubility

Mercury (II)iodide-Thermochromism-

Thermochromic paint-

Alters crystal structure
at certain temperature.

Mercury (II)fulminate-

Explosiveness-

Detonation cap (blasting
dynamite, bullet cartridge)-

Replaced by DDNP.

Mercury (II)thiocyanate-

Chemical
reaction spewing
out ash-Pharaoh's snake (firework)-

Generates toxic smokeand residue

Mercury emissions and releases and its risks
As a chemical element, mercury has existed on Earth since its creation. Mercury is released fromnatural sources by processes, such as volcanic activity and permafrost melting. Once released,71mercury poses risks to human health and the environment. In recent years, more mercury has beenreleased through human activities, such as the combustion of fuels, mining activities, and theconsumption of mercury-added products. Mercury is a trace element found in many minerals andfuels such as coal, natural gas, oil, non-ferrous ore. Mercury emitted to the atmosphere remains fora long time and will be transported long distances. Atmospheric mercury is gradually oxidized anddeposited in the ocean or on land. Inorganic mercury in water bodies can be methylated by microbialactivity, and bioaccumulated in biota at higher trophic levels. Eventually, fishing brings mercury backto human society through consumption. Excessive exposure to mercury, especially methylmercury,will pose risks to vulnerable population and pregnant women, in particular, as methylmercury
actively passes through placenta barrier by amino acid transporter to fetus.
Similar to mercury usage, the largest mercury emission source is ASGM, which disproportionallyaffects marginalised and less privileged groups, such as children and women of child-bearing age.
Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions emitting large amounts of mercury as
shown in Figure 12. The burning of fossil fuel and the production of cement and non-ferrous metals
all remove mercury from the soil and emit it to the atmosphere. More importantly, such mercury byproduct might increase with the economic development of developing countries.

Large-scale
gold
production
4%

North MiddleAmerica east
2%
EU
2%
4%
CIS & nonOceania
EU Europe
0.4%
6%

Production offerrous metals
2%
Others
6%

Waste
7%
Cementproduction
10%
Production of
non-ferrous
metals
11%

ASGM
38%

Total 2220 tons
(2015)

Fossil fuelburning
22%

Latin
America &Caribbeans
20%

Total 2220 tons
(2015)

Asia
49%

Africa17%

Source: United Nations Environment Programme (2019). Global mercury assessment 2018.

Figure 12 Global atmospheric mercury emissions by sector and by region724.10 Reference literatures and websites
Due to the Minamata Convention, a lot of literatures on mercury data has been published from many
countries. The Minamata Convention and the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership provide platforms
to access relevant information. Global statistics are available from a few institutions whereconsistent data retrieval is possible. Information on mercury-free alternatives and phasingout/down of mercury-added products is published by many organizations that are not listed below.

Mercury surveys and statistics
Online databases
International Energy Agency (2022). Data and statistics. http://www.iea.org/statistics/. Accessed 28 April
2022.
United Nations Statistics Division (2022). UN Comtrade database. https://comtrade.un.org/data/. Accessed
28 April 2022.
United States Geological Surveys (2022). International minerals statistics and information.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/. Accessed 28 April 2022.

Assessment reports
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme and United Nations Environment Programme (2019).
Technical Background Report for the Global Mercury Assessment 2018. Tromsø: AMAP Secretariat, The FramCentre, and Geneva: UN Environment Programme Economy Division.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/29831/gma_tech.pdf. Accessed 8 April 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2002). Global mercury assessment. Geneva: UNEP Chemicals.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/12297/final-assessment-report-25nov02.pdf.
Accessed 14 February 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2013). Global mercury assessment, source, emissions, releases andenvironmental transport. Geneva: UNEP Chemicals Branch.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/7984/-Global%20Mercury%20Assessment201367.pdf. Accessed 14 April 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2017). Global mercury supply, trade and demand. Geneva: UN
Environment Economy Division.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/21725/global_mercury.pdf. Accessed 10
February 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2019a). Global mercury assessment 2018. Geneva: UN
Environment Programme Economy Division.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/27579/GMA2018.pdf. Accessed 10 February
2022.

Inventory development and guidance
Mercury Inventory Toolkit
United Nations Environment Programme (2022). Mercury Inventory Toolkit. https://www.unep.org/exploretopics/chemicals-waste/what-we-do/mercury/mercury-inventory-toolkit. Accessed 28 April 2022.

73United Nations Environment Programme (2019b). Toolkit for identification and quantification of mercury
releases, Reference report and guideline for inventory Level 2, Version 1.5, November 2019. Geneva: UN
Environment Chemicals and Health Branch.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30684/HgTlktRef.pdf. Accessed 10 February2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2019c). Toolkit for identification and quantification of mercury
releases, Reference report and guideline for inventory Level 1, Version 2.1, November 2019. Geneva: UN
Environment Chemicals and Health Branch.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30686/HgTlkitIL1.pdf. Accessed 8 April 2022.

National inventories
Christensen C. L., Skårup, S, Maag, J., and Jensen S., H. (2004). Mass flow analysis for mercury 2001.
Ministry of the Environment, Environmental Protection Agency, Denmark.
https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2004/87-7614-287-6/pdf/87-7614-288-4.pdf. Accessed 8 April
2022.
Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2019). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2014). Informationfrom Japan upon the request from the Minamata Convention Secretariat on capacity building, technicalassistance and technology transfer on the Minamata Convention on Mercury, Ministry of the Environment,
Japan.
https://www.mercuryconvention.org/sites/default/files/documents/submission_from_government/Japan_
Article14.pdf. Accessed 8 April 2022.
Japan, Ministry of the Environment (2020). Overview of mercury material flow in Japan (FY2016).
http://www.env.go.jp/chemi/materialflow/materialflow_2016-2.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022. [In Japanese]
Lassen, C. and Hansen, E. (2000). Paradigm for substance flow analyses. Danish EPA, Denmark.
https://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2000/87-7944-327-3/pdf/87-7944-328-1.pdf. Accessed 8 April
2022.
United States of America, Environment Protection Agency (2018). 2014 national emission inventory, version
2. Technical support document. US Environmental protection Agency: North Carolina.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-07/documents/nei2014v2_tsd_05jul2018.pdf. Accessed 5
August 2022.

Guidance and training materials
European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (2019). EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory
guidebook 2019. Technical guidance to prepare national emission inventories, Copenhagen: European
Environment Agency. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/emep-eea-guidebook2019/at_download/file. Accessed 24 April 2022.
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (2022). MercuryLearn training.
https://mercurylearn.unitar.org/. Accessed 28 April 2022.

Legal framework and mercury management
Minamata Convention
Minamata Convention (2013). Text of the Minamata Convention on Mercury for adoption by the Conference ofPlenipotentiaries. UNEP(DTIE)/Hg/CONF/3.
https://www.mercuryconvention.org/sites/default/files/documents/working_document/CONF_3_Minamata_Convention_on_Mercury_final_26_08_e.pdf. Accessed 21 July 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2019). MC-3/5: Mercury waste thresholds, In Decision adopted by
the third Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury. UNEP/MC/COP.3/Dec.5.

74https://www.mercuryconvention.org/sites/default/files/documents/decision/UNEP-MC-COP3-Dec5MercuryWasteThresholds.EN.pdf. Accessed 31 July 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2022). Annex A to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, as
amended by the Conference of the Parties at its fourth meeting. UNEP/MC/ COP.4/Dec.3/Add.1.
https://www.mercuryconvention.org/sites/default/files/documents/decision/4_Dec3_Add1_Amendment.En
glish.pdf. Accessed 31 July 2022.

Mercury-added products
Madagascar, Ministry of Environment, Ecology, Sea, and Forests (2015). Replacing mercury-added products
and promoting improved management of mercury-added products waste in Madagascar.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/13845/Madagascar-final-report.pdf. Accessed 28
April 2022.
Norden (2007). Mercury substitution priority working list. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/13874/TN2007541.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme Global Mercury Partnership (2022). List of alternatives to mercuryadded products. https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/13866/flyer_final1_mercuryfree_alternatives.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
World Health Organization (2015). Developing national strategies for phasing out mercury-containing
thermometers and sphygmomanometers in health care, including in the context of the Minamata Convention
on Mercury. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1091404/retrieve.
Accessed 28 April 2022.

Dental amalgam (phase down and alternatives)
United Nations Environment Programme (2016). Lessons from countries phasing down dental amalgam use.
Geneva: UNEP Chemicals and Waste Branch.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/31212/Dental.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme and World Health Organization (2014). Promoting the phase down
approach of dental amalgam in developing countries.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/13865/dental_mercury_phase_down_project_bro
chure_FINAL_lr.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
World Health Organization (2009). Future use of materials for dental restoration. Geneva: World HealthOrganization. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/202500/9789241500647_eng.pdf Accessed
28 April 2022.

Health aspects
Japan Public Health Association (2001). Preventive measures against environmental mercury pollution and its
health effects. http://nimd.env.go.jp/english/kenkyu/docs/manual.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
National Institute for Minamata Disease Japan (2013). Mercury and health V4.1.
http://nimd.env.go.jp/english/kenkyu/docs/Mercury_and_health.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
World Health Organization (2000). 6.9 Mercury, In Air quality guidelines for Europe, Second edition.
Copenhagen: WHO Regional Publication. 157-161.
https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/123079/AQG2ndEd_6_9Mercury.PDF. Accessed 14
February 2022.

Cross-cutting issues
InforMEA (2022). Mercury and gender. https://elearning.informea.org/course/view.php?id=99. Accessed 28
September 2022.

75

Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (2017). Gender and the sound management ofchemicals and waste. SAICM/IP.2/6.
http://www.saicm.org/Portals/12/documents/meetings/IP2/IP_2_6_gender_document.pdf. Accessed 11
August 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme (2016). Global Gender and Environment Outlook, The Critical
Issues. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/7628/Global_gender_and_environment_outlook_The_critical_issues-2016ggeo_summary_report.pdf.pdf. Accessed
11 August 2022.
United Nations Environment Programme and Minamata Convention (2021). Gender equality and mercury.
Minamata Convention on Mercury Secretariat.
https://www.mercuryconvention.org/sites/default/files/documents/202108/Gender_Equality_Mercury_May_2021.pdf. Accessed 11 August 2022.

Other
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (2020). Guiding questions for designing leaning events(face-to-face and online). United Nations Institute for Training and Research.
https://unitar.org/sites/default/files/media/file/Designing%20Learning%20Events.pdf. Accessed 14
February 2022.

76

4.11 Glossary, acronyms, andabbreviations
ASGM
BAT
BEP
CAS
CFL
COP
CY
CYC
DNA
DS
ECC
EEA
ESP
EXRI
FF
FGD
FY
GEF
GHG
HS
IEA
IL1
IL2
Mercury-added
product
MIA
MMF
MOEJ
MOYAI
Initiative
MSW
NAP
OECC
PM
PRTR
PS
PU/PUR
PVC
ROAP
SAICM
SCR
SD

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining: gold mining conducted by individual miners or
small enterprises with limited capital investment and production.
Best Available Techniques: Techniques that are the most effective to prevent and, wherethat is not practicable, to reduce emissions and releases.
Best Environmental Practices: Application of the most appropriate combination ofenvironmental control measures and strategies.
Chemical Abstracts Service
Compact fluorescent lamp
Conference of the Parties
Calendar year
Cyclones
Deoxyribonucleic acidDry scrubber
Environmental Compliance Consultancy
European Environment Agency
Electrostatic precipitator
EX Research InstituteFabric filter (or "bag filter")Flue gas desulfurization
Fiscal year
Global Environment Facility
Greenhous gas
Harmonized System
International Energy Agency
Inventory Toolkit Level 1
Inventory Toolkit Level2
Product or product component that contains mercury or a mercury compound that was
intentionally added.
Minamata Initial Assessment
Mercury material flow
Japan, Ministry of the Environment
A Japan’s commitment made at the Diplomatic Conference in 2013 to support
developing countries and to promote voices and messages from Minamata.
Municipal solid waste
National action plan
Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center
Particulate matter (or PM filter)
Pollution release and transfer register
Particle scrubber
Polyurethane
Polyvinyl chloride
Regional Office for Asia and the PacificStrategic Approach to International Chemicals Management
Selective catalytic reduction
Spray dryer

77

SDA
SIP
SNCR
UN
UNEP
UNITAR
uPOPs
USGS
UV
VAT
VCM
wFGD
yr

78

Spray dryer adsorberSpecific International Programme
Selective non-catalytic reduction
United Nations
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Institute for Training and Research
Unintentional persistent organic pollutants
United States Geological Survey
Ultra-violet
Value-added tax
Vinyl-chloride monomer
Wet flue gas desulphurisationYear5 EDITABLE POWERPOINT FILESThis Chapter provides the reading scripts of the pre-recorded narration embedded in the multimedia
files.

5.1 List of slide decks
Lecture 1: The Minamata Convention on Mercury (36 slides, 25’38”)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Outlines of the Minamata Convention (4 slides, 3’49”)
Section 2: Mercury supply, trade, and use (8 slides, 6’19”)
Section 3: Environmentally sound management of mercury (8 slides, 5’05”)
Section 4: Provisions facilitating the implementation of measures (11 slides, 7’56”)
Section 5: Overall management of the Convention (4 slides, 2’13”)

Lecture 2: Mercury issues and how mercury flow analysis can contribute (43 slides, 33’44”)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Mercury problems – needs for global actions (6 slides, 5’47”)
Section 2: Addressing mercury problems (5 slides, 4’27”)
Section 3: How mercury flow analysis can contribute (6 slides, 5’10”)
Section 4: Policy implication (case in Japan) (10 slides, 6’56”)
Section 5: Introduction of UNEP mercury inventory Toolkit (11 slides, 9’15”)
Section 6: Toolkit guidance elements (4 slides, 1’56”)

Lecture 3: Mercury source categories (23 slides, 19’31”)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Raw minerals and fuels (4 slides, 3’34”)
Section 2: Industrial processes using mercury (3 slides, 2’14”)
Section 3: Mercury-added products (7 slides, 6’11”)
Section 4: Mercury waste management (6 slides, 5’19”)
Section 5: Miscellaneous categories (2 slides, 2’03”)

Lecture 4: Mass balance principle and examples on the process, sectoral and societal level(31 slides, 25:59)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Mass balance principle (7 slides, 7’41”)
Section 2: Key mass balance equations (4 slides, 2’30”)
Section 3: System definition and boundaries (4 slides, 2’54”)
Section 4: Accumulation: quantification, predictions, and implications (5 slides, 4’48”)
Section 5: Relations between mercury mass flows and the UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit(8 slides, 6’58”)
Section 6: Other mercury quantification tools (2 slides, 0’46”)79Lecture 5: Steps in mercury mass flow development (79 slides, 58’52”)
Part I: Sector definitions, identifying individual flows, quantification of flows (36 slides, 21’49”)▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Sector definitions (13 slides, 6’47”)
Section 2: Identification of flows (7 slides, 5’21”)
Section 3: Quantification of flows (6 slides, 5’40”)
Section 4: Examples of sector flows (9 slides, 3’51”)

Part II: Quantification of stocks, collection of supplementary data, working with intervals, available
online tools and resources (32 slides, 29’25”)
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

Section 1: Quantification of stocks (12 slides, 10’17”)
Section 2: Data sources (10 slides, 10’36”)
Section 3: Data collection principles and methods (3 slides, 4’28”)
Section 4: Uncertainties and working with intervals (4 slides, 2’28”)
Section 5: Use of online helper tools (2 slides, 1’22”)

Part III: Identifying and reducing uncertainties, reporting and review (10 slides, 7’31”)▪
▪

80

Section 1: Identifying and reducing uncertainties and gaps (6 slides, 4’54”)
Section 2: Reporting principles and review (3 slides, 2’24)

5.2 Lecture 1 The Minamata Convention
on Mercury‘0’ This lecture explains the legally-binding provisions of the Minamata Convention on Mercury
particularly the measures that the Parties are to implement for sound mercury management.

Section 1: Outlines of the Minamata Convention‘1’ This section explains the background and scope of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
‘2’ The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a multilateral legally-binding environmental agreement
aiming to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions andreleases of mercury and mercury compounds. The Convention, in its preamble, recognizes thesubstantial lessons of Minamata Disease and the need to ensure proper management of mercury
and the prevention of such events in the future. The text was adopted in October 2013, and iscomposed of a preambular text, 35 articles, and 5 annexes. The Convention entered into force on
16th August 2017, on the 90th day after the deposition of the 50th instrument of ratifications,
acceptance, approval, or accession.
‘3’ In its preamble, the Convention recognises the substantial lessons of Minamata disease, inparticular the serious health effects resulting from the mercury pollution, and makes aware of thehealth concerns to women, children, and future generations. The Convention sets out a range ofmeasures throughout the entire life cycle of mercury to meet its objective. Articles 3 – 12 relate tothe operational provisions describing the Parties’ obligations to reduce emissions and releases, with
controls throughout their life cycle, which include measures to control the supply and trade of
mercury, mercury-added products, manufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury
compounds are used, as well as artisanal and small-scale gold mining, ASGM. The text also includes
the articles on emissions and releases of mercury, environmentally sound interim storage, mercury
waste, and contaminated sites. Articles 13 – 21 facilitate the implementation of these measures
including provisions related to support for the Parties, information, awareness raising, and reporting.
Articles 22 – 35 cover the overall management of the Convention. Annexes A and B list the mercuryadded products and manufacturing processes to be controlled by the Convention. Annex C sets theitems to be included in the national action plans for ASGM. Annex D lists the point source categories
for emission control.

81‘4’ This Convention covers all forms of mercury, as element, and mercury compounds. Specificmercury compounds are subject to control in Article 3, supply and trade, and Article 10, interim
storage. Article 4 specifies mercury-added products to be phased out or phased down by the Parties.

Section 2: Mercury supply, trade, and use‘5’ This section explains the measures stipulated in the Convention on mercury supply, trade, anduse.
‘6’ Article 3 Mercury supply sources and trade: Each Party shall not allow new primary mercury
mining and shall only allow existing primary mercury mining operating for a maximum of 15 years
after becoming a Party. Each Party shall also endeavour to identify individual stocks of mercury or
mercury compounds exceeding 50 metric tons as well as sources of mercury supply generatingstocks exceeding 10 metric tons. Each Party shall not allow the export and import of mercury unlesssome conditions stipulated in the Convention are met.
‘7’ Existing primary mercury mining is allowed for a period of up to 15 years after the entry into forceof the Convention for the Party. Mercury from such mining shall only be used for mercury-added
products and in manufacturing processes in accordance with Article 4 and 5, respectively. Or it shallbe disposed of in accordance with Article 11.
‘8’ Mercury trade between Parties or a Party and a non-Party requires a written consent from theimporting country and shall be allowed only for the use allowed under the Convention or forenvironmentally sound interim storage. Exporting Party shall ensure that importing non-Party iscompliant with Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention. Likewise, importing Parties shall obtaincertification from exporting non-Party which ensures that the mercury is from allowed sources,
noting that there are restrictions on the use of mercury from primary mining or decommissioning ofchlor-alkali facilities.
‘9’ Article 4 Mercury-added products: Each Party shall not allow the manufacture, import or exportof mercury-added products listed in Part I of Annex A after the phase-out date, which is 2020 for the
products originally listed and 2025 for those newly listed by the amendment of Annex A in 2022.
Each Party also shall take measures to phase down the use of mercury-added products listed inPart II of Annex A, which is dental amalgam. Each Party shall take measures to prevent theincorporation of mercury-added products into assembled products and discourage the manufactureand distribution of new mercury-added products. The Secretariat shall collect and maintain
information on mercury-added products and make it publicly available. The Conference of the82

Parties, COP, shall review Annex A and may consider amendments. The first amendment was
adopted by the COP at its fourth meeting in 2022.
‘10’ Article 5 Manufacturing processes in which mercury or mercury compounds are used: Each
Party shall not allow the use of mercury or mercury compounds in the manufacturing processes
listed in Part I of Annex B, and shall take measures to restrict the use of mercury or mercury
compounds in the manufacturing processes listed in Part II of Annex B. Each Party shall also takemeasures to address emissions and releases of mercury or mercury compounds from thesefacilities. Each Party shall not allow the use of mercury or mercury compounds in new facilities anddiscourage their use of mercury or mercury compounds in new processes. The Secretariat shallcollect and maintain information on processes using mercury or mercury compounds and make itpublicly available. The COP shall review Annex B and may consider amendments.
‘11’ Article 6 Exemptions available to a Party upon request: Any Party, may register, on becoming a
Party, exemptions from the phase-out date listed in Annex A and B for five years or less or withdraw
the registered exemption. The Secretariat shall establish and maintain the register and make itpublicly available. The COP may decide to extend an exemption for five years.
‘12’ Article 7 Artisanal and small-scale gold mining: Each Party with ASGM in its territory shall takesteps to reduce, and where feasible eliminate, the use, emissions and releases of mercury and its
compounds. Each Party with more than insignificant ASGM in its territory shall notify the Secretariat
and develop and implement a national action plan, which shall be submitted to the Secretariat within
three years after the development of the plan. Thereafter, a review of the progress made shall be
conducted every three years.

Section 3: Environmentally sound management of mercury‘13’ This section explains the environmentally sound management of mercury particularly control
measures to reduce mercury risks stipulated in the Convention.
‘14’ Article 8 Emissions: A Party with relevant sources shall take measures to control emissions
from sources listed in Annex D. Each Party shall require the use of best available techniques, BAT,
and best environmental practices, BEP, to control emissions for new sources within five years after
becoming a Party, and implement one or more measures for existing sources within 10 years after
becoming a Party. Each Party shall also establish and maintain an inventory of emissions. The COP
adopted the guidance on BAT/BEP, including goals and emission limit values for existing sources,
the guidance on criteria to identify source categories, and methodology for preparing the inventory.
The BAT/BEP guidance was adopted by the COP at its first meeting in 2017.

83‘15’ The relevant sources subject to this Article are listed in Annex D. Different control measures are
required for new sources and existing sources.
‘16’ Article 9 Releases: Each Party shall identify the relevant point source categories, which are notaddressed in the other provision of the Convention, no later than three years and on a regular basis
thereafter. Each Party shall take measures to control releases, and establish and maintain an
inventory of releases. The COP shall adopt guidance on BAT/BEP and methodology for preparing
inventories.
‘17’ For both new and existing sources that are not covered by the other provisions of the Convention
such as release limit values, use of BAT/BEP, a multi pollutant control strategy, or alternative
measures, at least one measure listed in the Convention shall be implemented.
‘18’ Article 10 Environmentally sound interim storage of mercury, other than waste mercury: Each
Party shall take measures to ensure that the interim storage of mercury and mercury compounds
intended for a use allowed under the Convention is undertaken in an environmentally sound manner.
The COP adopted guidance on the environmentally sound interim storage of mercury and mercury
compounds at its second meeting in 2018.
‘19’ Article 11 Mercury wastes: Mercury wastes means substances or objects consisting of,containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds in a quantity above the relevant
thresholds defined by the COP. Each Party shall take measures to manage mercury waste in anenvironmentally sound manner. Each Party shall also ensure that the recovery, recycling,
reclamation or direct re-use of mercury waste is for an allowed purpose or for environmentally sounddisposal only. For the Party to the Basel Convention, mercury waste shall not be transported acrossinternational boundaries except for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal. The COP shalldefine relevant thresholds for mercury wastes.
‘20’ Article 12 Contaminated sites: Each Party shall endeavour to develop appropriate strategies for
identifying and assessing sites contaminated by mercury or mercury compounds. Actions to reduce
the risks shall be performed in an environmentally sound manner. The COP adopted guidance onmanaging contaminated sites in its third meeting in 2019.

Section 4: Provisions facilitating the implementation of measures‘21’ This section explains the provisions of the Conventions that facilitate the Parties implementing
the measures to fulfil the objective of the Convention.

84‘22’ Article 13 Financial resources and mechanism: Each Party undertakes to provide resources
such as domestic funding, bilateral and multilateral funding as well as private sector involvement
for national activities. The mechanism shall include the Global Environment Facility, GEF, and thespecific international programme, SIP.
‘23’ The GEF provides predictable, adequate and timely financial resources to meet the agreed
incremental costs of global environmental benefits. The GEF shall be operated under the guidanceof and be accountable to the COP. The SIP supports capacity-building and technical assistance. All
parties and other relevant stakeholders are invited to provide financial resources on a voluntarybasis.
‘24’ Article 14 Capacity-building, technical assistance and technology transfer: Parties shallcooperate to provide capacity-building and technical assistance to developing country Parties andParties with economies in transition. Developed country Parties and other Parties shall, within theircapability, promote and facilitate development, transfer and diffusion of, and access to, up-to-dateenvironmentally sound alternative technologies. The COP shall consider information on existing
initiatives and progress made, and the needs of Parties in relation to alternative technologies, andidentify challenges experienced by Parties in technology transfer. The COP also shall makerecommendations on how capacity-building, technical assistance and technology transfer could befurther enhanced.
‘25’ Article 15 Implementation and compliance committee: A Committee is established as a
subsidiary body of the COP. The Committee shall promote implementation of, and review
compliance with, all provisions of the Convention. It shall examine both individual and systemic
issues of implementation and compliance and make recommendations to the COP.
‘26’ Article 16 Health aspects: Parties are encouraged to promote the development andimplementation of strategies and programmes to identify and protect populations at risk. They arealso encouraged to promote the development and implementation of science-based educational
and preventive programmes on occupational exposure to mercury and mercury compounds, and topromote appropriate health-care services for prevention, treatment and care for populations
affected by the exposure to mercury or mercury compounds. Furthermore, they are encouraged toestablish and strengthen the institutional and health professional capacities for the prevention,
diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of health risks related to the exposure to mercury and mercury
compounds.
‘27’ Article 17 Information exchange: Each Party shall facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical,
economic, and legal information. Additionally, it shall facilitate the exchange of information such as
on the reduction or elimination of the production, use, trade, emissions, and releases of mercury, on85technically and economically viable alternatives to products, processes, and activities, andepidemiological information. The Secretariat shall facilitate cooperation in the exchange of
information.
‘28’ Article 18 Public information, awareness, and education: Each Party shall promote and facilitate
the provision to the public of available information, and education, training and public awareness
related to the effects of exposure to mercury and mercury compounds.
‘29’ Article 19 Research, development and monitoring: Parties shall endeavour to cooperate todevelop and improve inventories of use, consumption, and anthropogenic emissions and releasesof mercury. The cooperation also includes modelling and monitoring of mercury in vulnerable
populations and in environmental media, assessments of the impact of mercury on human healthand the environment, in addition to social, economic, and cultural impacts, information on theenvironmental cycle, transport, transformation and fate of mercury, information on commerce andtrade in mercury and mercury-added products, and information and research on the technical andeconomic availability of mercury-free products and processes and on BAT/BEP to reduce andmonitor emissions and releases of mercury. Additionally, Parties should build on existing monitoring
networks and research programmes.
‘30’ Article 20 Implementation plans: Each Party may, following an initial assessment, develop andexecute an implementation plan. It may review and update its implementation plan, referring to
guidance from the COP and other relevant guidance. Parties should consult national stakeholders
to facilitate the development, implementation, review and updating of their implementation plans.
‘31’ Article 21 Reporting: Each Party shall report to the COP on the measures to implement theConvention and on the effectiveness of such measures, which include the information as called forin Article 3, 5, 7, 8, and 9. The COP agreed on the timing of the reporting at its first meeting for fullreports every four years and biennial reports every two years.

Section 5: Overall management of the Convention‘32’ This section explains the provisions of the Conventions that provide overall management of theConvention particularly evaluating the effectiveness of measures to achieve the objective of theConvention.
‘33’ Article 22 Effectiveness evaluation: The COP shall evaluate the effectiveness of the Convention,
beginning no later than six years after entry into force and periodically thereafter. To facilitate theevaluation, the COP shall initiate the establishment of arrangements for providing itself with86

comparable monitoring data on the presence and movement of mercury in the environment, andtrends in levels of mercury observed in biotic media and vulnerable populations.
‘34’ The evaluation shall be conducted on the basis of available scientific, environmental, technical,
financial and economic information including reports and other monitoring information, national
reports submitted, information and recommendations on compliance provided, and reports andother relevant information on the operation of the financial assistance, technology transfer andcapacity-building arrangement.
‘35’ Articles 23 to 28 cover various rules and processes for operationalising the Convention by
establishing the Conference of the Parties, secretariat, or by stipulating rules for settlement ofdisputes, amendments, voting, etc. Article 29 to 35 cover the provisions on the formality of theConvention, including signature, ratification, entry into force, reservation, withdrawal, depositary,
and authentic texts.

875.3 Lecture 2 Mercury issues and how
mercury flow analysis can contribute‘0’ This lecture explains current mercury issues and values of mercury mass flow that can contributeto sound mercury management.

Section 1: Mercury problems – needs for global actions‘1’ This section explains the backgrounds of mercury issues and challenges for the needs for global
actions.
‘2’ Mercury is a chemical element with unique physical properties. Methylmercury is a form of
mercury compound of great concern due to its high toxicity, but many other mercury compounds
also have certain level of toxicity. Mercury has been used widely because of its practical andtechnical characteristics. Although mercury has existed on Earth since its formation, recent
anthropogenic activities have increased mercury levels in the environment, resulting in elevatedexposure to some populations. This is why mercury is regarded as a global pollutant that requires
global action.
‘3’ One of the important properties of mercury is its persistence and long-range transport. It isreleased from various sources in various chemical forms and stays in circulation for a long time andcycles globally. It is estimated that due to anthropogenic activities, mercury emissions to theatmosphere have increased by 4.5 times compared to the purely natural level. Mercury, particularly
methylmercury, is toxic to the central nervous system at the development stage and bioaccumulates
in wildlife via the food chain. Mercury changes its chemical forms and moves across multiple media,
for example, air, water, soil, biota, etc. The main mercury sink is the bottom sediment of the ocean.
Such a natural mercury elimination process is slow and not sufficient to resolve recent mercury
problems.
‘4’ In recent years, more mercury has been released through human activities, such as combustionof fuels, mining activities, and consumption of mercury-added products. Some evidence shows thathuman activities have raised mercury levels in the environment. The ice core record of deposition
from Wyoming, United States of America, indicates an increase in the global environmental mercury
level since the onset of global industrialization in the 19th century. The figure also indicates a few
spike peaks that might be associated with local and/or regional sources, and large volcanic
activities.

88‘5’ Most of the mercury and mercury compounds have certain toxicities, but their biologicalbehaviours and toxicity levels are distinct. Elemental mercury is easily evaporated and absorbed byinhalation. Mercury is not corrosive in its elemental form, but once oxidized by metabolic activity, it
becomes corrosive. Alkylmercury, particularly methylmercury, forms a complex with one of theamino acids and is assimilated into body tissues as a protein that alters its normal function. Mercury
compounds are eventually metabolized to divalent mercury ions and excreted into urine, but the
metabolic rates are different in different chemical forms.
‘6’ Mercury circulates in air and water in elementary or oxidized inorganic form, but most of themercury that exists in humans and biota is methylmercury. Methylation occurs mainly in the bottom
sediment of the seabed, where anaerobic conditions are dominant. Some sulphate-reducing
bacteria produce methylmercury by reducing oxidized inorganic mercury. The absorption rate ofinorganic mercury is lower than that of methylmercury, thus methylmercury is selectively
assimilated. Species with large sizes and long lifetimes tend to accumulate methylmercury. Someanimal species have obtained the metabolism to safely store insoluble inorganic mercury particles
in their bodies.

Section 2: Addressing mercury problems‘7’ This section explains the relevance of the Minamata Convention to address global mercury
problems.
‘8’ Mercury emissions and releases spread globally. It moves quickly in the atmosphere and more
slowly in rivers and ocean currents. The main anthropogenic source categories of mercury
emissions and releases are the following: extraction and processing of raw materials that havenatural trace concentrations contents of mercury such as coal and non-ferrous metal ores,
production process that use mercury intentionally including ASGM, and mercury-added products
where mercury is added intentionally for a purpose.
‘9’ Regarding natural sources and remobilization, there is very little that can be done to reduce them.
Mercury impurities in raw materials can be lowered by reducing consumption or, in some cases,
substituting with other materials or processes. For example, reducing the use of coal to reduceclimate impacts will have a large effect on mercury releases as well. Otherwise, the reduction isdone by so-called “end of pipe” techniques, or mercury control techniques.
‘10’ There are several other sources of mercury input to the global economy. Dedicated mercury
mining is a primary source. In addition, other non-ferrous metal mining such as zinc, lead, copper,
and industrial scale gold mining contribute to the mercury market as mercury is naturally occurring89

in the ore of these metals. Mercury in the ore may be sold for use, emitted to the atmosphere, or
disposed of locally. As mercury has been extracted for many years, it is accumulated in the global
market and traded. The sale of mercury from such stocks is, however, restricted in some countries
as a part of mercury management. Finally, mercury circulates with products globally and some ofthem are collected for recovery of mercury, which is another mercury source to the economy.
However, mercury is now gradually being permanently retired during final disposals in many
countries to avoid future environmental impacts.
‘11’ This slide gives an overview of the known intentional mercury inputs and their outputs globally.
The geological reserves of primary mercury and mercury by-product account for the major mercury
input. The recovery and recycling are also large and come from industrial processes such as vinyl
chloride monomer production or mercury recovered from mercury-added products. Much of themercury ends up in the environment. Additionally, there is some long-term storage of mercury andenvironmentally sound disposal. Finally, the accumulation of mercury in society in products and inprocesses is shown, and this contributes to recovery and recycling, as well as to environmental
emissions and releases.

Section 3: How mercury flow analysis can contribute‘12’ This section explains how mercury flow analysis can contribute to global mercury problems.
‘13’ Material flow analysis is a systematic method to quantify flows and stocks of the target material.
It can include substance or product and assesses human activities that change the physical andsocial properties of the material. The analysis involves two main principles, setting boundaries andmodelling process balances. The inflow to and outflow from a boundary will affect the accumulation
or depletion of the stock within the boundary if the mass balance is maintained. Material flow isapplicable at many levels and purposes depending on the purpose and use.
‘14’ The origin and pathways of the mercury releases that need to be reduced are sometimes
complex. Mass balances help to see the intricate links between sources and releases in the life
cycle of mercury. Therefore, mass balances help in developing policy by setting target mercury
sources where they are most effective. For example, a key source of mercury to agricultural land
may be sewage sludge used as fertilizer, where mercury from dental amalgam use, thermometers
spills, etc. end up via wastewater treatment facilities.
‘15’ Minamata Convention is vital in efforts to reduce mercury’s adverse impacts. Many developed
countries have significantly reduced their mercury releases and emissions since as early as the
1970s in response to the serious health effects caused in Minamata and a few other locations. The

90

creation of the Minamata Convention triggered many activities globally to investigate mercury, andto implement measures to reduce mercury exposure in most countries of the world.
‘16’ The Minamata Convention sets out a range of measures throughout the entire life cycle ofmercury to meet its objective. For the effective implementation of the Convention, it is crucial toidentify the priority areas as a basis for effective and efficient domestic policy. Mercury inventory
and flow analysis can serve as fundamental tools in the identification of key mercury source types
and mercury’s fate in society. Understanding the intricate linkages between mercury, socioeconomic status and gender is important towards effective policies and interventions. Poverty is
one of the main drivers for pushing women into mining and is further compounded by deteriorationin subsistence farming. Thus, utilising a gender-responsive approach where relevant isrecommended. Currently, National Action Plans under the Minamata Convention, are required toaddress women and children’s exposure to mercury in ASGM.
‘17’ The Minamata Convention targets many aspects of the mercury problem. Mercury flow analysis
can contribute to identifying mercury trade, stock and sources. It will be used to monitor several
measures taken by the Parties such as the phase-out or phase-down of mercury-added products
and processes and the implementation of ASGM national action plans. Mercury emission andrelease inventories will be direct products of mercury flow analysis. Overall, the information can be
widely used for communications, education, research, and so on.

Section 4: Policy implication (case in Japan)‘18’ This section introduces an actual case study in Japan where mercury flow is used for national
policymaking and implementation.
‘19’ Ministry of the Environment, Japan has developed and is maintaining mercury flow analysis tocapture mercury use for manufacturing processes and emissions and releases to the environment.
Currently, the analysis versions in fiscal years 2010, 2014, and 2016 are available. It includes importand export of mercury and mercury compounds as well as mercury waste and recovery processes
to capture the entire life cycle at the national level.
‘20’ This analysis is used as base information among stakeholders for discussing domestic mercury
management policies and plans. Japan has established a new “Act on Preventing Environmental
Pollution of Mercury” and “The National Implementation Plan for Preventing Environmental Pollutionof Mercury” to implement the Minamata Convention. The new Act is planned to be reviewed at 5
years after entering into force, and the data collected through the development of the mercury flow91

can be utilized for their reviews. Additionally, Japan is using the knowledge and experiences
obtained through the development process for international cooperation for other countries.
‘21’ Import and export of mercury and mercury containing raw materials and products are compiled
and converted to mercury amounts. The table below shows the trend between 2014 and 2016. The
three-year average value is used for those with large yearly fluctuation.
‘22’ The amount of mercury exports from Japan greatly exceeds the amount of mercury imports asmost mercury comes into the country as impurities in raw minerals and fuels. Considering theimpact of exported mercury, the implementation of mercury export regulations is essential. In
addition, the fate of mercury in importing countries is of concern to prevent inappropriate use; thus,
exporters of mercury are responsible for reporting on final use from importing countries under theForeign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Mercury flow analysis is useful to understand the longterm trend of mercury as well as the short term to take appropriate measures to address the findings.
‘23’ Domestic manufacturing of mercury-added products is still ongoing in Japan, although the total
mercury amount used for the production is steadily declining.
‘24’ The decreasing trend seems to continue as manufacturers are moving towards mercury-freealternatives. Even though mercury-free is not possible, technology development enables mercury
reduction per unit of product. It is important to raise citizens’ awareness to select mercury-freealternatives to their consumable products.
‘25’ The mercury recovery industry exists in Japan and produces a significant amount of recycled
mercury every year. The annual production level fluctuates but remains at a certain amount.
‘26’ It is likely that waste of mercury-added products would continue to be generated in the future,even after the manufacture of some types of mercury-added products are phased out. Thus, theeffective collection of discarded products should be further promoted by stakeholders, such as
municipalities and industries. As the domestic mercury demand can be fulfilled by mercury
recovered from waste, only a small amount of mercury and mercury alloys is imported. After the
Minamata Convention entered into force, the mercury demand was expected to decline, resulting in
disincentives to recover mercury from waste. As sound mercury waste management is an importantfactor for long-term mercury management, a framework for controlling high concentration mercury
waste is deliberately discussed.
‘27’ The 2016 version of Japan’s mercury flow still needs further refinement. Stock of mercuryadded products in households and offices, which are also called hoarded stocks, should be
identified and evaluated. The results will guide the responsible entities in each sector for the proper
separation, discharge and collection of the products. Manufacturers storing a certain amount of92

mercury are subject to reporting on the management of their mercury under the new mercury act inJapan. Such reports provide the trend on stocks after the law enforcement. Those who manage
materials traded as recyclable resource containing mercury are also required to report on the
management of their resources under the new act. Such information is used for identifying flows ofsuch resources.

Section 5: Introduction of UNEP mercury inventory Toolkit‘28’ This section introduces UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit, which provides information directly
relevant for mercury mass flows. It is used by many countries as the de facto standard for mercury
inventory development.
‘29’ The UNEP mercury inventory toolkit is based on the mass balance principle with some
simplifications to make inventory development easier for users. The toolkit currently focuses on thequantification of mercury emissions and releases. Mass flows add another layer of revealing how
mercury sources are inter-linked and contribute to the overall mercury exposure pattern.
‘30’ Therefore, understanding the Toolkit is very beneficial for work with mass flows because mostof the key guidance is already given, such as methodologies, system boundaries, and sectors
defined. There is always value in using the Toolkit for work. Other emission inventory systems canalso be used if available. More than 95 countries, mostly developing and with economies intransition, have used the Toolkit for their mercury quantifications as part of their Minamata Initial
Assessments.
‘31’ The Toolkit uses national data on different levels. In the simple Level 1, activity rates are used
to show how much has happened in the relevant sectors. In the more detailed Level 2, it isrecommended to use more national data to increase the accuracy of the estimates formed.
Furthermore, the Toolkit estimates emissions and releases to all environmental media, and this isalso needed for mass flow work.
‘32’ The Toolkit applies the mass balance principle, which refers to ‘what comes in must come out’.
The Toolkit works with input factors and output distribution factors. Default factors are available forbackup, based on the literature, but using local or national factors are encouraged whereveravailable. Using specific factors, however, requires more data, and this has been a challenge in many
developing countries. Data availability is the main limitation in doing so. In the Toolkit inventories of
the current Level 2 methodology, the precision of the estimation will increase if specific data are
available.

93‘33’ This slide shows the key equation used in the Toolkit. It works with the activity rates, which are
typically the amount of materials fed into the process or the amount of products produced. The
activity rate is multiplied by the input factor to obtain the overall mercury amount into this sector orprocess to society. The input factor is the mercury concentration or content per unit, so it could be
the mercury concentration in coal or the mercury content of a thermometer. The output distribution
factor estimates the release pathways to air in this formula. This is the unit-less fraction of themercury input that is released through a particular pathway, such as air, water, land, product, generalwaste, or sector-specific waste treatment. By this definition, all the output distribution factors
should add up to 100%. There are a few exceptions, although, to this principle to make inventory
development easier for users.
‘34’ Toolkit Level 1 is very simple to use. Only activity rate data are needed to develop an inventory.
It also has an optional function to add data on control measures such as filters. The calculation
spreadsheet for Level 1 offers much help in entering data. It provides protected formulas, andfeedback suggestions for potentially incorrect data. The results are automatically calculated andused to create a standardized inventory. As it applies a simplified model, these results are lessaccurate due to the use of default calculation factors.
‘35’ Because it uses a model with some limitations, and there are some local variations that are notincorporated, the results in Level 1 should be used with caution. For example, the mercury
concentration in coal may vary by a factor of ten or more. Level 1 can reflect improved pollution
control systems but with default factors only. Additionally, associated uncertainties are notreflected automatically, but they need to be addressed when developing reports. Such models
applied in Level 2 are generally complex, which requires some extra work.
‘36’ In Level 2, the default factors are still pre-populated for back-up, but they can be modified to
improve the accuracy. Almost all mercury control regimes are reflected in Level 2. The output
distribution factors can also be modified if well documented local data are available. Level 2 canfully reflect local settings and mercury management solutions. It is a strong monitoring tool to see
the improvements over time when implementing the Minamata Convention. It is customizable to agreat extent for enhancing the precision of the results, but some caution must be considered when
preparing the inventory report. Such modification should be clearly documented to avoid
misinterpretation by readers and peer reviewers.
‘37’ The Toolkit includes default calculation factors, which are based on the available literature. It
should be noted that published data are still scarce for some factors, thus, there is still room for
improvement. Measurement or detailed study for local inventory development may also inform the
Toolkit for its improvement.

94

‘38’ The full background of all default factors is presented in the Toolkit Reference Report, which isopen to any new data being made available with good documentation. The default factors forstationary mercury sources have been harmonized with the Global Mercury Assessment
methodology, whereas for products, the methodologies differ, focusing more on national data.

Section 6: Toolkit guidance elements‘39’ This section introduces useful tools and materials to guide the development and improvementof mercury mass flows.
‘40’ The Toolkit Level 1 includes a guideline, including advice and sources for data collection, which
are useful for Level 2 work as well. It also includes a calculation spreadsheet, the reporting template,and examples of data collection letters for inspiration. The reporting templates are ready-to-use
materials when making an original inventory. An online e-learning tool called MercuryLearn hosted
and developed by UNITAR is also available online.
‘41’ A cornerstone in the Toolkit Level 2 is the Toolkit Reference Report. It is a guideline for Level 2,
but more importantly, it is a compendium on mercury source categories that describes the key
features of all mercury source types. It provides valuable insight into the original source of mercury,examples of mercury inputs and release patterns from the literature, documentation for default
factors used, and guidance for the source-specific inventory work involved on the Toolkit Level2.
The Toolkit Level 2 also includes a spreadsheet and designated reporting template.
‘42’ Leaning materials about the Toolkit give instructions and advice on inventory developmentusing the Toolkit at both levels.

95

5.4 Lecture 3 Mercury source categories‘0’ This lecture explains mercury source categories and classification of mercury use and releases.

Section 1: Raw minerals and fuels‘1’ This section explains the source categories that mobilize mercury in raw minerals and fuels.
‘2’ Raw minerals and fuels account for most mercury emissions. Mercury exists as impurity that isemitted unintentionally except in artisanal and small-scale gold mining, ASGM, where mercury isintentionally added to the ore to extract gold. ASGM accounts for the largest mercury emission
source and disproportionally affects marginalised and less privileged groups, such as children andwomen of child-bearing age.
‘3’ Fuel production and energy consumption are significant mercury emission sources. Coal, oil andnatural gas contain trace amounts of mercury, which is either removed by the fuel production
process or emitted during energy consumption. As mercury is troublesome in the oil and gas
process, it is usually removed beforehand, and refined oil and gas products do not contain mercury
at a significant level. Coal is provided either washed or unwashed. The coal washing process
removes a certain amount of mercury and provides higher quality and price. Mercury is present inall biological and mineral fuels, including renewable fuels such as firewood, and straw. Biomassfired power and heat production contribute to mercury emissions due to the high volumes used.
Geothermal power production extracts only underground heat, not minerals, but the natural mercury
concentration at a geothermal location is usually elevated. When a power plant release mercurycontaining vent for power production, it can become a local mercury source.
‘4’ Primary metals and material production are also significant mercury sources. Mercury mines
extracting and processing mercury as a primary mineral are always major mercury sources. Nonferrous metals such as zinc, lead, gold, and copper often co-exist with mercury in their veins due totheir chemical affinity; thus, mineral extraction results in a mercury source. When mercury is not
used for gold extraction, the natural trace concentrations of mercury in the ore are released in theprocess, particularly in large-scale gold production. Even at lower concentrations, ferrous metal
production is also a possible mercury source, as the scale of activity is large. Cement production is
also a major source because the amount of raw material, such as limestone, used for the production
is significantly large.

96Section 2: Industrial processes using mercury‘5’ This section explains the industrial processes that use mercury as catalysts or other purposes
for producing products other than mercury-added products.
‘6’ There are several known mercury-using processes that are controlled under the Minamata
Convention. Vinyl-chloride monomer, VCM, production is the largest mercury-using process while
acetaldehyde production has moved to the mercury-free process. Mercury-using processes accountfor approximately one-third of the global mercury use.
‘7’ Important processes using mercury are acetylene-based chemical production, where mercury
compounds serve as catalysts accelerating the addition reaction. To avoid the use of mercury,
ethylene will be used for the feedstock instead of acetylene. Another type of catalyst is the initiator
for polymerization of polyurethane elastomer that triggers the process in the moulded products or
coating. Although mercury works as a catalyst, it actually remains in the product. Another mercury
use is as the electrode for electrolysis or electrorefining. One of the major products is sodiumhydroxide and chlorine gas using the mercury amalgamation method, where sodium amalgam plays
a key role in extracting sodium ions from brine solution. Alcoholates such as sodium ethylate areused as catalysts for producing biofuel. Gold plating is also a possible mercury source under thiscategory where gold amalgam is smeared on the metallic surface to gild the object.

Section 3: Mercury-added products‘8’ This section explains the mercury-added products that contain mercury or a mercury compoundthat was intentionally added. This definition differentiates such products containing mercury froman impurity in raw materials.
‘9’ Mercury-added products account for approximately one-fourth of global mercury use. Mercury isused for many products in various sectors if historical uses are included. Although mercury-freealternatives have been developed to a great extent, mercury-added products are still widely used.
Major products that consume substantial amounts of mercury are controlled under Minamata
Convention, but some essential uses are excluded from phase-out.
‘10’ Elemental mercury has some unique properties that are utilized for developing various products.
A non-electrical pressure gauge is one of the typical examples that uses the property of a highdensity liquid that is suitable for the purpose. Mercury is in liquid form between -38.8 and 356
degrees C, so it is used for temperature measurement. Its high thermal conductivity also benefits
the quick response to temperature change. Discharge tubes are another popular use of mercury.
Mercury vapour emits ultraviolet rays when excited, which can be used for lighting and disinfection97

purposes. Elemental mercury is added to the battery to avoid the generation of hydrogen gas thatcauses rupture and leakage.
‘11’ The mercury switch and relay also provide a unique function in electric circuits. As an electricallyconductive liquid, mercury-added electric appliances can provide many functions, such as tilt
switching and acceleration sensing. Liquid mercury has a wetting effect on other metals, so it
provides ideal contact on the surface of the mercury relay that enables very high frequency
switching without chattering. Elemental mercury has many other applications, such as vacuum
pumps and balancers. However, many of them have been replaced by mercury-free alternatives. One
exception is for laboratory instruments, which are excluded from the phase-out list of the Minamata
Convention. The porosimeter measures the surface pore volume and distribution in the size of poreson the material surface.
‘12’ Amalgam is an alloy of mercury and other metals. Most metallic elements can form amalgam
with a few exceptions such as iron, platinum, manganese, nickel, etc. Silver tin amalgam is the mostwidely used amalgam product for dental restoration. It gradually hardens after mixing such that it
fills the dental cavities of the dental patients. This 3-metal amalgam can control the degree of
expansion / contraction to avoid gaps between the filling and tooth. Thallium amalgam has theunique property of a low melting temperature and can be used for thermometers with a lower
temperature range than mercury thermometers.
‘13’ Mercury compounds have been used as red pigments since the Stone Age. Mercury sulphide,or cinnabar, is the chemical form found in mercury ore. Due to its low solubility and high chemical
stability, the painted colour does not fade out for centuries. Mercury chloride one, or calomel, isanother common mercury compound with wide applications. Its bactericidal and fungicidal
properties are applied as a preservative. The lower solubility and white colour enabled calomel toalso be used as a facial powder. In the science field, saturated calomel electrodes are commonlyused as stable electrode potentials. Mercury oxide two was used for the cathode of the mercury cellto obtain a stable voltage. It was also used for antifouling paint for the ship’s bottom.
‘14’ Many more mercury compounds have been used for various products. Agricultural chemicals
such as fungicides, preservatives, and topical antiseptics are biocidal applications. Some mercury
compounds have bleaching effects that are used for skin whitening cosmetics, which is still widelyused by many women in the societies where lighter coloured skin is preferred. One of the uniquecompounds is mercury fulminate two, which is explosive and used for detonation caps for dynamiteand firearms.

98Section 4: Mercury waste management‘15’ This section explains the mercury waste management and release from the facilities.
‘16’ The amount of mercury emissions from the waste sector is substantial but less significant incomparison with the amount of mercury handled. Mercury waste management is significantly
different between countries. The special collection and treatment of mercury waste is challenging,although it has become increasingly practised. Some mercury is recycled or recovered from waste
streams, which reduces mercury release from waste. Both waste incineration and open burning are
significant emission sources to the atmosphere while landfills can serve the final mercury sink ifthey are properly managed.
‘17’ Mercury entering the waste stream has several types and properties that require different waste
management schemes. Mercury and mercury compounds that are discarded need special care,such as stabilization as mercury in this form is an important source of mercury contamination. Endof-life mercury-added products are mixed with general waste or collected separately. If a hazardous
waste collection scheme is in place, mercury can be removed before such waste is disposed of.
Some non-ferrous metals and other sludge and incineration ash contain mercury. Depending on theconcentration level, such waste should be treated as mercury waste. Fly ash from coal-fired power
plants contains a certain concentration of mercury but is often mixed with cement for construction
work. At mining sites, mining waste and tailings may contain trace amounts of mercury dependingon the geological characteristics of the mines. Mine tailings of gold mines where amalgamation
methods were used may be contaminated with substantial levels of mercury. Mining waste andtailings are very large in volume, so the amount of mercury could also be significant. Finally, in theevent when some facilities or buildings are dismantled, mercury could be released if mercurycontaining materials were handled in such buildings or facilities. Dismantling could generate a large
quantity of waste contaminated with mercury and special care, including worker safety measures,
should be put in place.
‘18’ Recycling is an important process for mercury waste management. Mercury waste will include
different waste streams such as household waste segregated at the source, hazardous industrial
waste, second-hand components containing mercury, scavenged materials at waste stations orlandfill sites, etc. Recycling can recover mercury as well as useful materials, which makes recycling
economically profitable. Instead, recycling for other materials could also be a potential source ofemissions if mercury-added products are contained in the waste. In the past, cars used mercury
switches, displays, etc. Thus automotive shredding residue was contaminated with mercury.
‘19’ Incineration is a waste management scheme practised widely for many types of waste.
Although incineration is a good waste management practice for certain types of waste, it is a99

potential mercury emission source. Incineration without emission control devices can releasealmost all mercury in the incinerated waste, which is equivalent to open burning of waste in termsof mercury management in the waste sector.
‘20’ Waste landfill is the final process of the waste management scheme. The purpose of mercury
waste management is to immobilize mercury at landfill sites. Stabilization and disposal of mercury
waste can effectively prevent mercury release to the atmosphere and water environment. The
amount of mercury released to the environment may vary between well controlled and uncontrolled
landfills, but a certain level of mercury stays in the landfill site unless spontaneous waste burning
occurs.

Section 5: Miscellaneous categories‘21’ This section explains miscellaneous source categories that have some contribution to mercury
releases.
‘22’ Mercury is a chemical element and presents every corner of the world. The types of mercury
usage in products and processes are also diverse. There are some minor use or source categoriesof mercury that may have some contribution to mercury releases. Crematoria and cemetery arepotential mercury sources from human remains. Crematoria burns bodies that emit mercury into
the atmosphere, while cemetery buries bodies that may result in mercury release into water bodies.
Particularly for the population with dental restoration using mercury amalgam, mercury releases
from crematoria and cemetery may account for a certain level. There are wastewater treatment
facilities that accumulate aquatic pollutants in the sludge. The reuse of such sludge should be
carefully considered for its chemical safety. Finally, some potential categories that are less surveyed
are explained. There are uses for mercury in some religious and traditional purposes in particular
cultures. For example, some ayurvedic and homeopathic remedies contain mercury. It is notpractised globally but could be a substantial source for particular countries and regions. There are
known military-related uses that are excluded from international frameworks.

100

5.5 Lecture 4 Mass balance principle andexamples on the process, sectoral andsocietal levels‘0’ This lecture explains the mass balance principle and examples on the process, sectoral andsocietal levels, relationship between mercury mass flows, the UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit, andother mercury inventory tools.

Section 1: Mass balance principle‘1’ This section explains the mass balance principle and introduces several examples at different
scales.
‘2’ In general, the mass balance principle is described as follows: Mercury is a chemical element andpersistent in the environment. This means that it is not destroyed, nor is it created in processes. It
is only "fed" into process, or "society“ and released via process outputs to the environment, including
waste deposits. When mercury is extracted from soil as a mineral or a trace element of othermaterial, it enters society where it needs to be managed to reduce or avoid its adverse impacts.
Thus, the first option would be avoidance for mercury from being brought into society as much as
possible. Total inputs equal total outputs, meaning that what goes in must eventually come out. The
only difference is the output pathways. In a timewise manner, however, mercury may accumulate if
the activity rate changes over time. The accumulation may be positive or negative depending on thebalance between inputs and outputs.
‘3’ The figures give a simple example of the mass balance for a coal-fired power plant where all
mercury inputs come with the coal in natural trace concentrations, which accounts for the hundred
percent to the incoming arrows. The output pathways are influenced by the air emission control
systems installed in the facilities. If there is no filter on the stack, then all mercury leaves throughthe stack because mercury is evaporated at such high temperatures. If a high-efficiency fabric filter
for particulate matter is introduced, it may reduce mercury emissions up to 50 % but may actually
vary significantly. Mercury trapped to the filter goes for disposal. If a wet process is introduced suchas desulphurisation system, some part of mercury may be released to the aquatic environment. The
same principle applies for other emission control technologies.
‘4’ The mass balances for non-ferrous metal smelting facilities in Japan are presented as a processlevel example. Non-ferrous smelting facilities are complex facilities with various types of chemical

101

processes involved. Mercury is included in input feed, that is non-ferrous metal ore, in sludge,
sediment and wastewater from flue gas treatment, by-product gypsum slag etc. The data areprimarily obtained through interviews with the Japan Mining Industry Association in fiscal year 2016.
In this example, a very small portion of the mercury input is released to the environment. Mercury isrecovered from the system as calomel or metal mercury. It also flows out of the system with byproducts, such as acid and gypsum, which may contain low concentrations of mercury.
‘5’ Life cycle and mass balance of dental amalgam of Denmark in 2001 is a mass flow example atthe sector level. Amalgam is placed on people’s teeth in dental clinics, thereby increasing the
mercury stock in society. From the stocks of amalgam in people’s teeth, mercury is lost to waste
when teeth fall out, through excavations in the dental clinics, to cemeteries when the corpses areburied, or to the atmosphere if they are cremated. Dental treatment in clinics results in mercury
release to air, water, and soil. It also produces mercury-bearing wastes, which may be released towastewater or municipal solid waste if the amalgam is not segregated at the source. Dental
amalgam waste should be separated into hazardous waste and specially treated. This massbalance is approximately 20 years old, and today, there is hardly any use of dental amalgam in
Denmark because it has been regulated already. However, older people still have dental amalgam
fillings, and they make their teeth drilled out or fall out, so mercury waste management must
continue, which is the typical legacy mercury issue.
‘6’ A national-level example of mercury mass balance is shown here. The diagram describes theoverall summary of mercury flow in Denmark in 2001. The incoming arrow on the left is the overall
import of mercury with products and materials. The outgoing arrow indicates exports, mainly as
waste. There are also losses to air, soil and water, and to waste deposition at a significant level. As
a whole, the accumulation at that time showed negative accumulation, which means a decrease insocial stock.
‘7’ The previous diagram was simple, but background work to develop it was substantial. This
diagram is the detailed version of the same diagram that indicates sector- or product-level figures.
The negative accumulation is seen widely in the world today, thanks to the Minamata Convention,
but the mercury waste issue will continue for decades. The use of mercury-added products wasmuch higher in the past. It is now replaced by mercury-free alternatives or disposed of as waste.
The legacy problems need to be addressed in the long term while implementing the Convention.

102

Section 2: Key mass balance equations‘8’ This section explains key mass balance equations that estimate the amount of mercury flow inthe system.
‘9’ The mass balance equation is given in the first formula for the general case. For the specific caseof an element such as mercury, which is neither formed nor degraded, it will be simplified to thesecond formula. Looking at a country or another “economic” system, it can be detailed in the third
formula.
‘10’ When the overall mass balance equation is used from a national perspective, all life cycle steps
taking place in the country should be included. More specifically, all life cycle steps taking place
inside the system boundaries, typically the country’s borders, should be considered. This may be
raw materials processing, product or materials manufacturing, use phase, waste disposal andrecycling. For example, in the case of dental amalgam fillings, the steps may include filling
preparation in dental clinics, waste collection and treatment from dental clinics, recycling of fillingmaterial, wastewater discharge, evaporation loss of mercury from the fillings in the mouths, loss ofteeth over the lifespan of a person and the fate of the teeth, and output to land in cemeteries or to
air from cremation.
‘11’ Domestic consumption equals production and imports minus exports. The terms domestic
consumption and supply are often used interchangeably. In some studies, consumption refers to
the true value while supply indicates statistical data because trade statistical data can include
discrepancies due to less strict use of Harmonized Customs codes.

Section 3: System definition and boundaries‘12’ This section discusses the system definition and boundaries that enable a snapshot of the flow
profile.
‘13’ It is a basic concept to delineate the boundaries to monitor the flow crossing them so that
incoming and outgoing amounts can be quantified. A typical physical boundary is a national territory,
that is, the national economy within its territory. Using the national economy is easiest because thetrades and production statistics follow this boundary. Flow analysis within national boundaries isalso relevant to national reporting required by the Minamata Convention. Typically, in mass flow
analysis, emissions and releases to the environment are considered losses or outputs from theeconomy. Atmospheric and waterway deposition coming from outside the territory is included as
input in some mercury flow analyses.

103‘14’ Additionally, a boundary in time has to be defined. This is typically one year, which is called thebase year or reference year. It could be a calendar year or fiscal year, whichever is easier in thenational setting. It is practical to have this base year a few years ago to ensure that the statistical
data are available for that year. If more qualified data become available later, they can be indicatedin the inventory report. In case recent data are not available, slightly older data can also be used as
an approximation, but it must always be stated the year in question for each dataset.
‘15’ In the practical work for developing a mass flow, other boundaries can be delineated. For
example, a mass flow for the whole coal-fired power plant sector in the country can be developed.
Sometimes, a mass flow is developed at the process level. It could be just for one individual coalfired power plant, which is for disclosure and data sharing. Such individual data can also inform theapproximation of the entire sector through extrapolation if the presented data are accurate.

Section 4: Accumulation: quantification, prediction, and implications‘16’ This section discusses the accumulation including its quantification, prediction, andimplications.
‘17’ The total accumulation used here equals the total ‘stock’, which is the amount of material,
mercury, currently present within the system boundaries. In year zero, when mercury was introduced
into the economy, there was no accumulation or stock. In the following years, the input to societyequals the output, which is called a steady state situation, and there will be no accumulation.
However, if the input is larger than the output, accumulation will start forming in society. Assuming
the early days when new mercury-added products were introduced, an increased amount of mercury
built up in a society. Today, mercury has already accumulated in society that needs to be handled.
If the input becomes smaller than the output by reducing mercury consumption or enhancing
discarding mercury in use, the accumulation will decrease. Even though the mercury stock isdecreasing in some countries, the accumulated mercury can still result in releases to theenvironment.
‘18’ The mass balance concept and mathematical expression of accumulation are described in the
differential equations. The node is the focus of the mass balance calculation, which can be atvarious scales. The stock in the node is a function of time, delta T, and initial stock, S zero. It is
important to be aware of dynamics, which change over time among input, output, and stock in thenode.
‘19’ There are various types of stocks of different natures. The total stock in society is the sum of
all stocks, including the following examples. Consumer products still in use or not in use but still104

kept by consumers are practically regarded as a stock. In industry, mercury-added products still in
the production line, purchased for later internal use, or phased out but not yet disposed of, should
also be stocks. The elemental mercury in chlor-alkali plants is stored for manufacturing use in the
future or absorbed in plant facilities over the years. In recycling or recovering facilities, stocks will
be found either in the form of waste material not yet processed or recovered mercury. There arealso stocks in mercury trade companies accumulated for sale. There are also examples ofgovernment stocks of mercury as mercury is an important commodity for national security reasons.
In the European Union and the USA, the sale of mercury in such stocks has now been prohibited
because of the environmental impacts.
‘20’ The accumulation of mercury in products in use in society means that mercury consumed
previously still needs to be managed. Such delayed releases are due to the life of mercury-added
products in use or hoarded. The red curve shows the consumption of a mercury-added product, or
sales to consumers, industry, etc, over a range of years. It takes time before the product is no longer
used, and people do not dispose of it immediately after use. In reality, the disposal curve would havea longer tail due to the variation in the lifetime of the product. This illustrates the need to handle
legacy mercury waste for many years after sales have stopped.

Section 5: Relations between mercury mass flows and the UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit‘21’ This section discusses the relations between mercury mass flows and the UNEP Mercury
Inventory Toolkit.
‘22’ The Toolkit is based on the mass balance principle, but with some simplifications to make iteasier to operate. This made Toolkit inventories much more accomplishable for the key targetedusers, namely developers of the inventories. The Toolkit methodology also makes inventories more
standardized, and thereby more comparable. The idea to simplify the methodology assumed thatdata for full mass balances for mercury are still lacking in most countries. Previously mass flows
for mercury have been made in countries where there is relatively good access to data. Today, thedatabase is increasing gradually through the works implementing the Minamata Convention.
Simplified inventories have been developing over time for many countries, thus opening for moredetailed inventories and mass flows.
‘23’ A few simplifications or deviations from the mass balance principle were introduced to the
UNEP Toolkit. One of the major simplifications was the separate calculation of the inputs to waste
treatments, which is a major deviation from a mass balance principle. This was because the flows
to waste of mercury-added products were generally underestimated in developing countries due to105

a lack of data. The advantage of this simplification is, therefore, the emphasis of waste
management, which should not be ignored. The disadvantage is that inputs to waste treatment are
detached from the inputs to mercury-added products. This discrepancy can be accommodated if
actual mass balances are developed.
‘24’ For the outputs from engineered landfills, the default factors for releases to air and water,
meaning leachate, are not derived from mass balance. This is simply because no mass balance data
are available for landfills. The advantage of it is to signal the possible outputs from engineered
landfills. There is some evidence that mercury evaporates from landfills and that water leachates
contain mercury. The disadvantages are that the calculated values do not reflect the true massbalance derived values but are the best assumption under current knowledge. In addition,
unprotected landfills, or waste dumping sites, are considered direct releases to land in the Toolkit.
‘25’ To avoid complex mass balance decisions for users, the mass flow from life cycle step one tostep two is separately calculated in several cases to make data collection easier. It also saves users
from handling potential double counting. For example, the output of mercury in products fromdomestic manufacturing is calculated separately from the input to the use phase for products.
Additionally, the results are obtained with the production amount of mercury products without
detailed mass balance studies. Instead, there is a disadvantage that moderate mismatch between
total inputs and total outputs is seen in some Toolkit inventories due to the mismatching data. One
hundred percent accuracy is usually not expected for mercury inventory within the available budgets.
However, it will be improved if more data are available.
‘26’ The calculations for dental amalgam are also semi-balanced in Inventory Toolkit Level one. The
major reason is to avoid the need for older input data to reflect current releases from drilling in old
fillings. Instead, it will obscure the effect of large changes in dental amalgam inputs over time.
Inventory Level two can be fully balanced if sufficient information is available.
‘27’ In some cases input factors are aggregated because detailed data are often hard or impossible
to obtain. For cement clinker production in the Toolkit, inputs of mercury from raw materials areaggregated as tonnage of cement produced instead of getting mercury data for the clay, lime andother materials. Additionally, the inputs of mercury from fuels are aggregated by fuel type. This
simplification can provide results without knowing the exact raw material mix and fuel mix. Instead,it gives moderate deviations from so-called true values and requires more work to use local input
factors.
‘28’ Another example is the use of mercury catalysts in polyurethane production where the inputs ofmercury are aggregated with grams of mercury per population based on EU data with an adjustment
for technological development level. This is because obtaining actual data for the share of106polyurethane elastomers with mercury and the supply in one country is very difficult or almost
impossible; thus, simplification can allow for indicative results.

Section 6: Other mercury quantification tools‘29’ This section provides information on other available mercury emission estimation tools.
‘30’ Multi-pollutant air emission estimation guidance is available for use in PRTR systems developed
under the Kyiv Protocol of the Aarhus Convention. It focuses on air emissions, applies different
principles and sector definitions and is less detailed than the UNEP Toolkit for many source
categories. The method is, however, used in many countries covered by this Convention, and someother countries that have PRTR systems.

1075.6 Lecture 5 Steps in mercury mass flow
development‘0’ This lecture explains steps in mercury mass flow development.

Part I: Sector definitions, identifying individual flows, quantification of flows‘1’ This part describes sector definitions, identification and quantification of flows.

Section 1: Sector definitions‘2’ This section guides the sectors defined by the UNEP Inventory Toolkit.
‘3’ Using the sector definitions in the UNEP Mercury Inventory Toolkit is recommended for national
mercury mass flow analysis. Many things have been given and predefined in the Toolkit, and it istherefore practical to use the sector definitions given therein. They are based on the flows of
mercury focusing on where mercury enters society, and therefore it is practical to use them.
Inventory Level 2 offers users the possibility to add extra sectors.
‘4’ This table shows the definitions, or sub-categories, of the Toolkit for extraction and use of fuels
and other energy sources. The first column refers to the Toolkit Reference Report chapter number,which also serves as the subcategory number. The next column shows the subcategory name, suchas coal combustion in power plants. The output pathways are described in the following fivecolumns starting from air, water, land, product, and waste. In the output estimations, waste is further
subdivided into two sub-outputs: general, or municipal, solid waste and sector-specific waste. They
are assessed in two ways, either the release pathway expected to be predominant for the subcategory, or additional to be considered depending on the specific source and national situation.
The last column is the information on the life cycle phases to be included in the mass flow
assessment. Coal combustion includes coal washing, coal combustion, and residue and discharge
management. Coal washing is often done at the coal mine and may not be the case at the plant site.
There will be a flow to the atmosphere from the power plant. There may be discharges to water if
the facility has wet flue gas cleaning. There will also be a mercury flow to land if fly ash containing
mercury is deposited directly on land or used as a construction material contacting land. If there isa wet or semi-dry de-sulphurisation filter, they sometimes produce gypsum for wall boards as byproducts, which may contain trace mercury. Solid waste residuals from the filters and the slags may

108be sent to a general landfill, to a special depot, or whatever is appropriate in the specificcircumstances.
‘5’ This table presents the primary metal production sectors, or sub-categories that produce virgin
metal, which are categorized in 5.2 series.
‘6’ This table presents the production of other minerals and materials with mercury impurities, where
cement clinker production is one of the major ones.
‘7’ This table presents the intentional use of mercury in industrial processes. It includes chlor-alkali
plants with mercury cells, VCM production with mercury containing catalysts, and so on.
‘8’ This table presents consumer products with intentional use of mercury, which are called mercuryadded products. There may be significant mercury outputs from the production, use and disposalof such products.
‘9’ This table presents other intentional products and process uses. The prominent ones in this subcategory are dental amalgam, manometers, and gauges, which are not considered other productsin the Toolkit’s Level 2 because mercury may be sold separately for these purposes. Manometers,for example, may be sold empty for refilling with mercury after purchase. For simplification, theToolkit’s Inventory Level 1 does not have this distinction.
‘10’ This table presents the production of recycled mercury and other recycling industries, orsecondary metal production.
‘11’ This table presents the waste incineration and open waste burning of different waste fractions.
‘12’ This table presents waste deposition, landfilling and dumping, as well as wastewater treatment.
‘13’ This table presents crematory and cemeteries, or burial sites.
‘14’ This table lists mercury hot spots that may cause secondary releases or may be called
contaminated sites. Basically, they are closed or abandoned sites where building materials,
underground, or the surroundings are often polluted. Mine tailings are also potential secondary
sources of mercury if they are handled, dumped or deposited in larger amounts.

Section 2: Identification of flows‘15’ This section introduces the steps for identifying mercury flows in comparison with the mercury
inventory.
‘16’ A flow is any movement of the material, that is, mercury in this case, from one physical place orenvironmental medium to another. There is any flow going into and coming out of one physical place109

or environmental medium. It also includes the flow to another sector or environmental medium
within the boundary. For example, onsite dumping of waste in an industrial facility does not crossthe boundary, but it is considered a flow. The most important outflow from each source subcategory, or sector, is indicated in the source category of the Toolkit Reference Report. Other output
flows may exist, but they are usually considered insignificant.
‘17’ The following slides show a simple example to develop a flow diagram by assuming that only
two major mercury emission and release sources exist in the system, namely, mercury-added
products, and coal-fired power plants. Once the sectors are identified, the mercury flows arevisualized with arrows.
For the mercury inventory concept, mercury emissions and releases into the environment are
identified flows and the amount of mercury may be estimated for each flow.
‘18’ The first question to be addressed is “where is mercury coming from?” Mercury inflow to thesystem is composed of at least 3 processes, which are input of elemental mercury, domestic
manufacturing or production, and use in society.
Mercury-added products are supplied to households or industries by either domestic manufacturing
or import of the products.
Elemental mercury for domestic manufacturing of mercury-added products is either imported or
domestically produced. For most countries, importing mercury is still legal, but illegal import may
also exist. It may come from primary cinnabar mining although it is not prevalent, or it may comefrom recovery or recycling from mercury waste.
For the coal-fired power plants, there may be domestic coal production or import of coal, which is
fed to the coal-fired power plant.
If any preparation process for coal, such as coal washing, occurs in countries before being fed into
the power plants, it should also be incorporated into the diagram.
It should be noted that some mercury-added products manufactured domestically may be exported.
‘19’ The second question is “Where does mercury go from those sectors?”.
Mercury emissions and releases to the environment from these sectors could be already identified
when developing a mercury inventory.
When mercury-added products become waste, they may be dumped or burned in open air, landfilled,
or collected and treated to recover mercury if a separate collection system is in place.

110

Recovered mercury may be reused if there is still a market for allowed use both domestically andinternationally.
Mercury from coal-fired power plants is trapped by pollution control devices. Fly ash may be usedin cement production as an auxiliary material added into the cement for construction.
From all these processes, there are emissions and releases to the environment as well.
‘20’ The complexity of mercury mass flow is significantly different in appearance from that of themercury inventory. Mercury mass flow is inclusive of the inventory information but is much morecomprehensive because it describes the relationship between sectors and the fate of mercury.
‘21’ The information that the UNEP Inventory Toolkit provides is limited to the emission and releasedata only.

Section 3: Quantification of flows‘22’ This section describes the necessary data types for quantifying mercury flows, which means
how much mercury follows each flow path.
‘23’ The major part of national mercury flows can be quantified directly with results from theInventory Toolkit, partly from the main results and partly from the sub-calculation results available
in the Toolkit Level 2 spreadsheet. In some cases, the inventory made may not have accounted for
all flows individually, and additional data may need to be collected. The data types needed ininventory Level 2 are, the activity rate at the national level, local input factors, and local output
distribution factors for major sources. Mercury content in the coal mix used in the country is one of
the important local input factors to improve data quality. When the higher level of refinement of themercury inventory is required, local output distribution factors for major sources are criticallyimportant. For setting such distribution factors, information about the pollution abatements
equipment in place and its efficiency regarding mercury retention would be helpful.
‘24’ The amount of mercury flow is calculated as the product of the activity rate, input factor, andoutput distribution factor. The input factor is the mercury content per unit of feed material
processed or product produced, and the output distribution factors are the fraction of the mercury
input that is released through a particular pathway such as air, water, land, by-products, generalwaste and sector specific waste. The default set of input and output distribution factors areavailable in the Toolkit, but it is good to have their own factors relevant to the local context. The
activity rate is always needed for calculation.

111‘25’ Additional data are also required for developing mercury mass flows. The first example is the
production data, import and export data from specific sectors or from individual companies, if
possible, taking note of confidentiality. Another example is the data on the sector specific waste
treatment, what is actually done with the waste, for example, in the non-ferrous metal production.
How much mercury is recycled from the waste in the sector and put into the market, or how muchmercury is contained in the waste that is landfilled. The way waste is treated varies greatly among
countries and even among individual facilities. To address sector-specific waste properly, the waste
treatment sector should be subdivided, and additional information should be obtained from thefacilities involved in each of the sub-sectors. The fate of wastewater is also commonly missing
information. Wastewater released directly into the environment has a different fate in terms of
mercury flow from wastewater fed into wastewater treatment facilities. Waste with high-volumes
but trace mercury, such as paper, plastic, wood, and other metals is often left out of the mass flow
calculation, as it is not classified as mercury waste.’‘26’ Mass balance results from the Inventory Toolkit Level 2 spreadsheets will have to be partly
collected from the main results, and partly from sub-calculations. There is currently a standard
calculation of mercury inputs to waste treatments in the Level 2 spreadsheet. For re-connecting theoutputs to waste from products with inputs to waste management, the spreadsheet needs somemodification. The spreadsheet can be modified to reflect mass flow-derived inputs to waste
management sub-categories. What can be done for mass flow quantification is to bypass thisstandard input calculation for waste treatment. Instead, calculate the input to each waste treatment
sub-category as the sum of all outputs from products and processes to that waste output pathway.
‘27’ The mercury mass flow for mercury-added products and coal-fired power plants has identified
the flows of mercury. Then, the amount of mercury in each pathway will be added to the diagram.
For the flows where the amounts are unknown, a question mark should be added to indicate that
this is a data gap for later follow-up based on a prioritisation of the most important flows in termsof quantities or political priorities.

Section 4: Examples of sector flows‘28’ This section shows the examples of sector flows that illustrate the complexity and the datatypes needed.
‘29’ This diagram shows mercury flow for non-ferrous metal smelting facilities in Japan. The inputs
and outputs are marked with blue and red ovals respectively. The diagram has many process steps
because of the need to separate the different fractions of outputs.

112‘30’ This diagram shows mercury flow for primary iron production facilities. Compared to that for
non-ferrous metal production facilities, the diagram has fewer outputs because primary ironproduction has a somewhat simpler process, and mercury comes in with the coal and other minerals
used.
‘31’ This diagram shows mercury flow for secondary iron production facilities, or iron and steel scrap
processing where mercury also must be handled. There may be mercury switches and mercurycontaining lamps in scrap cars, etc., so these are inputs of mercury that result in emissions anddisposal of collected dust.
‘32’ This diagram shows mercury flow for oil and natural gas production facilities. Mercury is present
in oil and gas from the nature, and if the mercury concentrations are low at the production site, no
special treatment may be performed to remove mercury. However, in some areas, mercury
concentrations are quite high, for instance, in the Gulf of Thailand, some places on the west coastof the United States of America and in the Mediterranean region, where natural concentrations of
mercury underground are elevated. The area is called the geological mercury belt. Mercury
concentrations may also be elevated elsewhere and may vary significantly within even smaller areas.
‘33’ This diagram shows mercury flow for cement production facilities. All raw materials and fuels
used for cement production contain mercury at low concentrations, which results in mercury
emissions to the atmosphere unless properly managed. If there are effective air pollution control
systems, mercury captured in the dust will be purged into the final cement product. However,generally, much mercury evades dust filters and is emitted into the air.
‘34’ This diagram shows mercury flow for municipal solid waste incineration facilities. The waste
includes the products and materials containing mercury. Unless captured by air pollution control
systems, mercury goes to air. Solid residues contain the captured mercury.
‘35’ This diagram shows mercury flow for industrial waste incineration facilities. Similar to municipal
solid waste incineration facilities, mercury is emitted to air or captured in the residue.
‘36’ This diagram shows mercury flow for sewage sludge incineration facilities. Where this process
takes place, the mercury sources are similar to the solid waste brought to the incineration facilities.

Part II: Quantification of stocks, collection of supplementary data, working with intervals,
available online tools and resources‘37’ This part describes the quantification of stocks, collection of supplementary data, working withintervals, and available online tools and resources.

113

Section 1: Quantification of stocks‘38’ This section describes the recommended data collection steps to quantify mercury stocks.
‘39’ For the identification and quantification of physically confined stocks of mercury and its
compounds, the general method is to conduct interviews and questionnaire surveys with companies
or organizations that may have such stocks. This is a time-consuming exercise but is normallyshorter and easier during the second time or follow up once such process was completed. This isbecause most of the relevant stakeholders are already identified, and the inquiry items are usually
the same.
‘40’ The following steps are recommended to collect mercury stock data. First, statistical trade dataon the import and export of mercury and amalgam are examined for as many years back as isrelevant and consistent for the purpose. The consumption is then calculated with import plus
production minus export. If possible, the amount of mercury illegally imported may be estimated as
an indicative value. Illegal import of mercury may take place, especially in countries with small-scale
gold mining, and where the borders may be porous.
‘41’ The major intentional mercury use sectors are identified from mercury input estimates. This
could be artisanal and small-scale gold mining, producers of mercury added products, chlor-alkali
production with mercury cells, etc. For chlor-alkali production, technology applied for the facility isimportant. The mercury cell plant contains a large amount of elemental mercury, which accounts
for several tons per facility, used as the electrode. If technology conversion takes place at a mercury
cell plant, then the mercury in the electrode will become unnecessary and disposed of, sold, or
stored in the facility.
‘42’ Once major intentional mercury users are identified, information on mercury stock will be asked.
It includes the amount of mercury stocks in their custody at present and, preferably, their stock
records for at least the last five years or more if they are willing to share. Traders, producers, or
recyclers could be mercury suppliers; therefore, they can be contacted for obtaining relevant
information. Non-ferrous metal smelters are also important stakeholders as they have the byproduct mercury.
‘43’ Mercury suppliers are asked for providing their information. They could be mercury traders or
producers. The inquiry will include the total mercury supply to the countries of interest in the past
five years or more. The amount of mercury stored in their facilities at present, and, if possible, annual
exports and imports in the past five years or more are also asked. For waste recyclers, the amount114

of unprocessed waste in stock by waste types and the estimated amount of mercury to be recoveredfrom them will also be asked, which may constitute significant amounts.
‘44’ There are two types of stocks requiring attention for reporting under the Minamata Convention.
They are large stocks of more than 50 tons at a premise, and mercury suppliers that supply morethan 10 metric tons per year. Reporting obligation falls on to each Party to the Convention, which
will not add up across countries for a multinational company.
‘45’ Another type of stock needs to be investigated to make mercury mass balances. These arestocks of products and processes where mercury is at workplaces, which is sometimes called
consumer stocks. They include the amounts of mercury in active use in products, or not in use
anymore but not yet disposed of, which is also called hoarded products.
‘46’ First, existing publications are examined to identify the estimates of product in active use andin stocks. Earlier publication fits better for consideration. For some product types, the literatures, or
expert statements about when the products were originally introduced into the market could befound. It is important to be aware that the information found may not cover the entire market andmay need extrapolation before applying for analysis.
‘47’ Any production statistics, import and export data are collected as far back in time as possible
to ensure the consistency of data. Any changes in the HS coding system, if they exist, should betaken note of to capture older coding numbers for the same items. The UN COMTRADE database,for example, allows the use of generic search words such as ‘lamp’ to extract all relevant customs
codes relating to lamps. It is also beneficial to collect data on estimating mercury content per
product over time. It is particularly useful, for example, for discharge lamps. They always use
mercury but the amount per lamp has been diminished over time partly due to technologicaladvancement or pressure from regulations. Mercury content in a fluorescent lamp today isapproximately one-fourth to one-fifth of the one several decades ago. Information on the average
lifetimes of the products in question is also needed. This is important in terms of obtaining an ideaof the time gap between the time of sales of a product and the time of disposal of a product.
‘48’ Data on mercury product amounts received by recyclers and other waste treaters will be used
for cross-checking. The amount may likely be underestimated especially in such countries whererecycling is performed in the informal sector. A stock for a particular year, Y1, will be calculated inrelation to the base year, Y0, by adding or subtracting the annual accumulations. Consumption is
also called as supply from producer side which is the input to the society. Disposal or release to theenvironment is the output from the society. By making this calculation for every product, the total
product stocks in society will be obtained. There is a lot to do, especially for the first time, to obtain
the results, and it is a complex exercise. Thus far, it is understood that no quick answer will be115available for it. Estimated amount of product stocks in society is important information for making
forecasts of mercury waste.
‘49’ Mercury is also used in some production facilities, and sometimes with a significant amount at
workplace. A similar approach should be used for estimating mercury stocks in the industries.
Interviews and questionnaires are two major methods used to collect information. The response
rate and accuracy are usually high for well-managed interviews. When using questionnaires, what isreported is often not the full picture and requires proper extrapolation to estimate the total value.
The relevant information for estimation includes the mercury purchase data for the last 5 or 10 years,
if possible, data on the recorded disposal of mercury for the same time frame and the mercury
concentrations in the products and materials in question. It should be noted that there is a hidden
stock in the facility as mercury may be absorbed in building materials, process lines, etc. that will
become mercury waste when dismantling such a facility.

Section 2: Data sources‘50’ This section introduces available and possible data sources for mass flow development.
‘51’ There are useful internet sources for many people and countries. One of the very important data
sources is the UN COMTRADE database, which covers import and export data at a global level as
far as countries have reported them. Guidance on how to extract relevant data is given in the Toolkit
Inventory Level 1 guidelines annexes as well as in the ‘MercuryLearn’ e-learning platform. The
guidance in the Inventory Level 1 guidelines is relevant for both levels. It includes names of therelevant products that are used in the Toolkit, suggestions for search words, and some examples of
product codes in the table. Product codes may have more than what are provided. Extracting data
is easy but the information is not always perfect.
‘52’ The International Energy Agency database provides statistics on fuel uses. Data are given interajoules, not in tonnes of fuels, that requires unit conversion. The Toolkit Level 1 guideline annex
also gives a table on how to use the IEA data.
‘53’ The United States Geological Survey website provided mineral yearbooks for most of thecountries in the world, which are freely available. Sometimes countries are pooled together in one
report. The reports give key data on mining and minerals production, and sometimes semiquantitative information, for example on how much gold is from small scale mining and how much
is from large scale mining.
‘54’ The international databases can provide many easily available data. However, they can provide
only a number of important source categories. There are many other mercury sub-categories that116

are not addressed in these databases. That is where research for national data is needed. First,
easily available existing data sources such as national literature on the relevant sectors will be
examined. It may not be a publication on mercury but may give some relevant data. For example, it
may contain the amounts of coal, tonnes of diesel fuel used, etc. relevant to developing an inventory
for the energy sector. Sometimes national economic surveys may also be used. They provide
information on trade volumes or monetary values, which requires unit conversion, but indicative
data such as those can be useful. Another good data source is dioxin and furan inventories, which
many countries have developed as a part of the obligations under the Stockholm Convention. They
could contain information about the amounts of waste generated and how the waste is treated.
Pesticide inventories or other POPs inventories could also be useful in some cases. Greenhousegas inventories are also developed by many countries. They could contain the amounts of waste
burnt, coal used, oils used, etc. Although the estimation methodology for greenhouse gas
inventories is sometimes slightly less precise than that for mercury emissions, they also have very
useful information. The guidance document on GHG inventories provides the advice on datacollection and estimation. Some countries also have waste inventories and detailed waste
characterization studies where some quantitative information is available. There are a number ofother information available on the internet, universities and other knowledge centres as potential
sources.
‘55’ Public statistics can also provide good insights for mercury flow development. Some countries
periodically produce commodity statistics that include production data in addition to import andexport. Access to detailed customs statistics may be restricted, but customs departments may
provide a special dataset without confidential data. PRTRs are very useful, if available; however,most PRTRs have cut off thresholds for reporting; therefore, mercury information is often left out. If
certain sectors have many facilities with a low mercury release level below the threshold, then the
mercury amount could be underestimated in the PRTR system.
‘56’ For the market situation, trade and industry associations can be very important partners andshould be invited for mass flow development. Sometimes, such associations are not well-known
but individual companies may introduce them for obtaining information to the survey team. Public
service providers may be important sources of information. They would include waste collectors
and hazardous waste treatment facilities. Large producers or users of products or processes inwhich mercury is used can also be possible information sources. When analysing mercury
emissions and releases from large point sources, producers or suppliers of emission and release
reduction equipment may have valuable data. Retailer chains represent a large part of the consumer
market and may provide a good overview of the domestic flow of mercury-added products. The

117

survey may be conducted at the headquarters level for overall figures, or the shop level to determine
the products on the shelves.
‘57’ If financially and technically feasible, the measurement of mercury concentration of input andoutput is another option. It can make a breakthrough in the mass flow development by providing
information never existed before. As the measurement is an expensive exercise, it should beprioritised to identifying the most significant part of the information. Therefore, it is recommended
to first examine the existing data sources as much as possible. Identifying the key data gaps andkey uncertainties will be examined by sensitivity assessment. Examples of prioritised
measurements could typically be mercury concentration of inputs to and outputs from cement kilns,
such as raw materials, fuels, and flue gas because the concentrations vary locally. Another frequent
data gap is the mercury concentration in nationally manufactured or imported products with little
information available in the literature such as skin lightening creams and soaps, and button cellbatteries. Water-based paints that may sometimes contain mercury compounds as preservatives.
Artist paints can also contain mercury in the form of cinnabar pigment although they are usually notlarge in volume. Additionally, very little is known about the production of polyurethane elastomers
that uses mercury catalysts that remain in the final products. As mercury is one of the catalysts
used for polymerization, special attention should be taken in case large quantities are produced orused.
‘58’ Measurements made should be on a mass balance basis, meaning including all inputs andoutputs from a facility or process. However, output distribution factors of the Toolkit may be
strategically applied for effectiveness reasons, and the actual measurement can be focused on the
mercury inputs, such as the raw materials and fuels for cement kilns. If needed, supplementary
output measurements, such as air emissions, can be performed. Then, the other outputs can be
estimated with the default output distribution factors of the Toolkit. Alternatively, another strategy
could be employed to measure less costly media such as solid materials compared to sampling andanalysis of flue gas.
‘59’ Unit conversion is a necessary pre-treatment of data. An incorrect unit means an inaccurate
result. The Inventory Toolkit spreadsheet provides a unit conversion tab for some data types whereconversion is often needed.

Section 3: Data collection principles and methods‘60’ This section introduces the data collection principle and methods.

118

‘61’ Getting inventory data cannot be a one-go process. First, it could result in just a fraction of
information and then will be narrowed down to more precise information by follow up actions.
Creativity and flexibility are rather important to dive deeper into the matter. Generally, data collection
approaches vary significantly and case-by-case arrangements to whom to talk or how to addressneed to be developed. It is important to collect data for the same base year, if possible, to develop
an inventory and mass flow for a specific year. If data for the target year are not available, use data
for adjacent years and report this explicitly. It is good to look at the average value of the data for a
few years before and after the base year, which can also give the recent trend and degree ofvariations. An interview can include supplementary questions about the other informants to be
asked. Once data are collected, the relevance will be verified before use. Liquid-filled thermometers
may include both mercury-filled and alcohol-filled thermometers under the same customs code. One
approximation method could be simply asking the importers of thermometers about an impressionof the share of mercury-filled thermometers. In the case of mercury compounds, their weight should
be converted to that of mercury of the compound. Triangulation, which is the land surveying method
to check one location from two different checkpoints, is a good practice to qualify collected data.
For example, producers’ data and consumers’ data may be compared.
‘62’ It is common that national data are missing for some mercury source types and that they are
incomplete; therefore, if data are available from one part of the country, an attempt to extrapolate
such data using the national situation, based on population, for example, or some other relevant
extrapolation basis. If data are available for some of the companies in one sector, their market share
can be asked to extrapolate the value. If data are available for a part of the domestic market, theextrapolation can be done with available indicators of the national situation. For example, in thecase of blood pressure gauges with mercury manometers, one possibility is to ask a few major
hospitals and large private clinics. The questions will include the numbers of devices in stock andannual purchase subdivided by mercury-contain and mercury-free. The hospital beds will be
supplementally asked to extrapolate it to the total number of hospital beds in the country. Althoughextrapolation introduces uncertainties, mercury inventories, or mass flows of any kind, have thestrength of seeing the overall picture. Instead, the individual numbers are always associated withuncertainty, which needs to be lowered by getting more data. Describing clearly about theapproximation method applied and dataset used for the approximation is recommended. Such an
explanation in the report will be helpful especially when revisiting a few years later for the next
inventory.

119Section 4: Uncertainties and working with intervals‘63’ This section explains uncertainties and working with intervals.
‘64’ All data are in fact associated with some degree of uncertainty including the data ofmeasurements. It is therefore recommended to work with intervals, based on the variation in thereal data in society for the same item. In cases where there are significant amounts of data,
statistical analyses may be conducted to form a distribution function. The uncertainty andconfidence intervals can be calculated with these distribution data. A much simpler way is to use
minimum to maximum ranges, or the best estimate plus or minus with self-judgement. Proper
explanation of how to reach the uncertainty estimation is always necessary in the report.
‘65’ Crosscheck improves the credibility to a great extent. It may be asked for example, “does the
supply of raw materials or semi manufactured goods registered in the statistics correspond to theamounts used at manufacturers?” A few more examples are presented in the slide. Some of themlook difficult, but creative thinking is important to crosschecking between two different types of data
as much as possible.
‘66’ It is recommended to show values of mercury mass flow in a range, based on the observed
variation in the data used. The summation can be simply done by adding up all minimum values to
get the low end and all maximum values to get the high end. Although it overestimates theuncertainty, it is the easy way for readers to understand. It is also possible to use stochastic
variables, which reduces the uncertainty intervals for the results, but it is a long process andbecomes more “black box” to readers. Many of such numeric datasets form famous distribution
patterns such as log-normal distributions, or Weibull distributions.

Section 5: Use of online helper tools‘67’ This section briefly introduces some online helper tools when the inventory and mass flow
development is performed online.
‘68’ ‘Work together online’ is the new business style, which will likely become more common in the
future. There is a rapid development of interactive online business tools that help collaborative workfrom a distance. The internet ‘whiteboard’ is a non-text-based online tool that is suitable for drawing
up the process flows and illustrating them during the process. MIRO and MURAL are some of thetypical applications that provide practical platforms. Real-time document sharing services, including
Google Docs and Microsoft Office 365, work for common real-time multi-user text authoring andediting. The service includes common share folders and files accessible among inventory120

development team members. To make more sophisticated mass flow charts such as a Sankey
diagram, several applications including Rawgraph or Sankeymatic are available on the internet.

Part III:I Identifying and reducing uncertainties, reporting and review‘69’ This part focuses on identifying and reducing uncertainties, closing and calibrating the massbalance, reporting and review.

Section 1: Identifying and reducing uncertainties and gaps
‘70’ This section describes identifying and reducing uncertainties and gaps.
‘71’ To check the accuracy of mass flow, the numbers that affect the overall results the most should
be carefully identified. High numbers with medium or high uncertainties are particularly of concern.
If possible, an actual sensitivity analysis will be conducted. In addition, all identified data gaps
should be carefully listed and reported. Additional data with priority on the most important ones may
be collected this time, or next time when updating the mass balance for quality improvement.
‘72’ Estimated values of mass flow may present discrepancy, and it is necessary to investigate its
cause and improve the estimation. The figure assumes the case where a chain of mass flow subject
to the analysis has different amount of the input and output. There are several possibilities. It could
be a real change in accumulation within the process, or some differences may be due toincompleteness or errors in the data although the input and the output were balanced in reality. If
the difference comes from incompleteness or errors, additional data collection is necessary. Oncethe reasons for the observed difference are identified, appropriate interpretation and possible
modification are expected in reporting.
‘73’ If the output from process 1 is the direct input to process 2, the figures of the input and theoutput are expected to be identical. If a difference is found, a possible cause may be incomplete or
erroneous data, although the output and the input are actually equal. Alternatively, the output andinput may be truly different due to some other processes, which was not identified at the time of thestudy, but is influencing the flow between process 1 and process 2. Alternatively, the flow tends tofluctuate, and the data may have been taken at different times. In any case, it should be investigatedto determine the cause.
‘74’ More frequently, such a case will be encountered in which information on input to process 2 is
not available or difficult to estimate. Theoretically, efforts should be made to obtain independent
data that can qualify the estimates, but the most commonly applied option would be to assume theoutput from process 1 as an input to process 2 without substantial information for the input to121

process 2. Making the numbers fit together could sometimes be complicated but it is always
recommended to explore other ways to bridge the data gap, whenever possible.
‘75’ Once the data are collected and examined, the next step is to close the mass-balance, that is,
to make the numbers fit together into one big picture. First, the estimation of all emissions andreleases as well as data on mercury outputs from waste treatment are needed for this exercise.
Many countries at this moment do not have reliable mercury data from waste treatment. If it isconfirmed that the sum of all the inputs to the economy matches the sum of all the outputs fromthe economy, it gives a strong indication that the mass flow is balanced. If they do not, some of thenumbers may be missing, wrong or misinterpreted. When re-assessing the estimate, the mostuncertain numbers or the largest numbers could be examined first. If additional data will becollected to improve the balance, such data may influence the whole mass balance as all the flows
are interconnected. Therefore, the additional data collection process stops the entire process until
the mass flow is fully reinstated.

Section 2: Reporting principles and review‘76’ This section describes the reporting principles and review.
‘77’ It is important to highlight the key data needed for mass flow in the report. The activity rates
coming from import, production, and export data, as well as any local input factors and output
distribution factors should be presented. Associated information may be annexed to the main report.
Data uncertainty should be discussed in the report as transparent as possible. It is a good scientificprinciple to discuss the uncertainty for the benefit of the readers. The best available approximation
is much better than omitting data with uncertainty. The data gaps should also be reported so thatthe readers can differentiate between assessed zero and no data obtained. In the report, explicit
expression of ‘no data’ should be placed instead of leaving tables cells empty. Finally, full references
to all the data used are presented in the report. This is important for following up the results andupdating the information. It also informs the global community that the data in the report are
valuable and reliable.
‘78’ Once the report is drafted, it is recommended to have it reviewed by stakeholders andincorporate useful feedback into the report. Selected resource persons with relevant expertise in
key internal stakeholders such as organizations composing of the mercury mass flow developing
team will be invited for review. In some cases, external key stakeholders such as industrial
associations may also be invited for review before publication. They may provide additional useful122information or at least their standpoints to the results. The feedback does not have to be reflectedin full, but useful and reliable feedback can be incorporated into the report.

123

6 LIST OF ANNEXES
Annex A:

Mercury inventory data source overview (Excel)

Annex B:

Lecture 1: The Minamata Convention on Mercury (PowerPoint)

Annex C:

Lecture 2: Mercury issues and how mercury flow analysis can contribute(PowerPoint)

Annex D:

Lecture 3: Mercury source categories (PowerPoint)

Annex E:

Lecture 4: Mass balance principle and examples on the process, sectoral and societal
level (PowerPoint)

Annex F:

124

Lecture 5: Steps in mercury mass flow development (PowerPoint)UNEP and UNITAR
2023

UNEP and UNITAR (2023). Training package for mercury flow analysis to identify
and monitor national mercury situation in its entire life cycle, Users’ manual,version 1.1. Bangkok: UNEP.

United Nations Environment Programme
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
The United Nations Building
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Dusit
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Email: japanmercuryproject@un.org

United Nations Institute forTraining and Research
7 bis, Avenue de la Paix,
CH-1202, Geneva 2
Switzerland