""For a long time, coal was not accessible to humans," said Ana Navas-Acien, professor and chair of environmental health sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "But we are taking it from deep in the earth where mercury was safely trapped and we are burning it. We are spreading it throughout our planet. We are making it accessible to the biosphere, and we are doing it in ways that are not in keeping with how life on the planet has evolved.""
"A recent study revealed that atmospheric levels of mercury have decreased almost 70 percent in the last 20 years, thanks to domestic and global environmental regulations limiting mercury and its emissions. This is good news, because mercury is highly toxic to humans and animals. Globally, about 5,000 to 8,000 metric tons are emitted each year, of which 1/3 comes from natural processes like volcanic eruptions and undersea vents."
Atmospheric mercury levels decreased almost 70 percent in the last 20 years because of domestic and global regulations limiting mercury and its emissions. Mercury is highly toxic to humans and animals and circulates globally at roughly 5,000 to 8,000 metric tons emitted annually, with about one-third from natural sources such as volcanic eruptions and undersea vents and the remainder from industrial pollution including burning fossil fuels. U.S. power plants that burn coal and oil account for 44 percent of U.S. mercury emissions. Mercury occurs naturally in rock and coal; burning coal mobilizes trapped mercury into the biosphere. Elemental mercury is a liquid at room temperature used in thermometers and switches; inorganic mercury appears in batteries, disinfectants, and skin-lightening creams.
Read at State of the Planet
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