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Final session on international mercury convention this week expected to culminate in agreement; UNEP Global Mercury Assessment 2013 finds industrial source Hg emissions may be rising

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The fifth and final session of negotiations on the establishment of an international mercury convention—International Negotiating Committee on Mercury (INC5)—is taking place this coming week in Geneva. UNEP produced its first Global Mercury Assessment in 2002 and a subsequent study in 2007.

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Inorganic mercury converted to more toxic and bio-accumulative monomethylmercury in ocean waters, possibly by microbes

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A team led by the University of Alberta has confirmed that inorganic mercury (Hg) found worldwide in ocean water is transformed into monomethylmercury (MMHg)—a potent and bio-accumulative neurotoxin—in the seawater. In a 1991 paper discussing concerns with mercury and monomethylmercury, William F. 159-166.

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Chalmers team develops method to reduce levels of mercury in sulfuric acid

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Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed a method that can reduce the levels of mercury in sulfuric acid by more than 90%, even from low levels. It is therefore a worldwide challenge that sulfuric acid often contains one of the most toxic substances: mercury.

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ORNL study identifies more biopathways for formation of toxic methylmercury

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More forms of mercury can be converted to methylmercury—a form of mercury that can be taken into the food chain and eventually can result in mercury-contaminated fish—than previously thought, according to a study led by a team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) published in Nature Geoscience.

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Ford Increases Use of Recycled Paper, Cuts Use of Paper from Virgin Sources by 6,000 Tons

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million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicle owner’s manuals will be printed annually in the US on paper containing at least 10% recycled fiber and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The initiative has translated into several environmental benefits that helped save trees, reduce water and energy use, and lower CO 2 emissions.

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Duke study finds China’s synthetic natural gas plants will have heavy environmental toll; 2x vehicle GHG if used for fuel

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Coal-powered synthetic natural gas (SNG) plants being planned in China would produce seven times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional natural gas plants, and use up to 100 times the water as shale gas production, according to a new study by Duke University researchers published in the journal Nature Climate Change. —Robert B.

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Tailings storage facility breach at Mount Polley copper and gold mine

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The tailings storage facility at Imperial Metals Corporation’s Mount Polley mine was breached , early Monday morning, releasing an undetermined amount of water and tailings in the early morning of 4 August. On Tuesday, Imperial reported that “ The tailings dam breach that caused a water and tailings discharge … has stabilized.

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