Mercury has been found to be one of the most toxic substances in our environment today, and yet little has been done to stop its contamination of our air and water. Some sources advocate ôretiringö mercury, i.e., making it illegal to sell mercury. Since pollution of our air and water contaminates our food supply as well, it is also argued that we need to stop selling fish captured from the open sea and sell only fish that have been cultured in protected areas. A third idea for mercury reduction is to penalize all manufacturers whose processes release mercury into the environment; they would be given 12 months in which to change their processes or risk being shut down. Finally, some have suggested legislation to prevent mercury pollution by criminalizing improper mercury disposal.
Mercury pollution takes place in a multitude of ways. ôPollutionö is defined as ôcontamination of the air by noxious gases and minute particles of solid and liquid matter (particulates) in concentrations that endanger healthö (1). Therefore, mercury pollution of the air occurs when mercury gas or minute particles of mercury enter the air in sufficient quantities to endanger health. Similarly, ôwater pollutionö is defined as ôthe addition of harmful chemicals to natural waterö (1), so when mercury is added to natural water in streams, lakes, and oceans, mercury pollution has occurred.
The idea of retiring mercury has gained many advocates in recent years. Mercury retirement would involve collecting excess or recovered mercury for long-term, probably permanent, storage. The U.S. State Department supported a proposal asking nations at a United Nations meeting in Geneva last September to begin retiring mercury to reduce contamination (2). Previously, only small amounts of mercury have been retired, and then these amounts have generally found their way to landfills, from which it can escape again into the atmosphere. Although new landfill...