Mercury Study Report to Congress

By Environmental Protection Agency

Book Id: WPLBN0000155594
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.30 MB
Reproduction Date: 2007

Title:	Mercury Study Report to Congress
Author:	Environmental Protection Agency
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Ecology, Natural resource issues, Environemtal protection
Collections:	Environmental Awareness Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	United States Environmental Protection Agency


Citation APA MLA Chicago Protection Agency, B. E. (n.d.). Mercury Study Report to Congress. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.cc/

Description
Excerpt: This Mercury Study is a Report to Congress prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It fulfills the requirements of section 112(n)(1)(B) of the Clear Air Act, as amended in 1990. The Report provides an assessment of the magnitude of U.S. mercury emissions by source, the health and environmental implications of those emissions, and the availability and cost of control technologies. As the state-of-the-science for mercury is continuously and rapidly evolving, this Report should be viewed as a “snapshot” of our current understanding of mercury. This Report does not quantify the risk from mercury exposure because of scientific uncertainty in a number of important areas. The Report identifies areas where further research is needed to provide a quantitative risk assessment.

Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page U.S. EPA AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii WORK GROUP AND U.S. EPA REVIEWERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii LIST OF SYMBOLS, UNITS AND ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O-1 1. THE MERCURY STUDY REPORT TO CONGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 2. MERCURY IN THE ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1 3. FINDINGS OF THE MERCURY STUDY REPORT TO CONGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Sources Contributing to Mercury in the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1 Inventory Approach and Uncertainties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 Anthropogenic Emissions Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 Trends in Mercury Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 Trends in Mercury Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7 Assessment Approach for Fate and Transport of Mercury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8 Assessment of Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20 Human Health Effects of Methylmercury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 How Much Methylmercury is Harmful to Humans? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25 Levels of Methylmercury Exposure Addressed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization and State Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29 Characterization of Risk to Human Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31 How Much Methylmercury Exposure is Harmful to Wildlife and What Are the Effects? . . . 3-43 4. MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Possible Control Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1 Cost of Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8 Ongoing U.S. EPA Activities to Reduce Mercury in the Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10 International Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14 5. RESEARCH NEEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1