Specific Areas Covered by the Agreement Are:
to make speciated mercury measurements at industrial, urban and remote sites;
• to model dynamic processes of mercury on local, regional and global scales; specific attention will be devoted to the assessment of the interaction between the atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems;
• to provide stewardship of mercury as a global commodity, and the development of policy options; specific attention will be devoted to link atmospheric emissions – deposition to marine ecosystems – methylation processes and mercury concentrations in fish – risk associated to mercury exposure to mercury contaminated fish; the ultimate goal is to identify for specific socio-economic scenarios the optimal cost-benefit strategies to reduce risk to human and ecological health;
• to improve mercury emission inventories through better characterization of anthropogenic (combustion and non-combustion) and natural sources (including chemical speciation);
• identify technologies to reduce emissions or remove mercury from waste streams;
• assess health-based standards for mercury exposure/reference dose;
• to conduct human health surveys and biomonitoring for mercury in hair and in blood including ecological biomarkers;
• to conduct surveys on fish mercury concentrations;
to develop communication tools for mercury to promote pollution prevention and risk management solutions.