High Level of Mercury
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According to recent research, high concentrations of mercury were found in the water bodies fed by the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Mercury level found- Typical dissolved mercury content in rivers is about 1 – 10 ng L-1 (the equivalent of a salt grain sized amount of mercury in an Olympic swimming pool of water).
- In the water bodies fed by the Greenland Ice Sheet, scientists found dissolved mercury levels in excess of 150 ng L-1, far higher than an average river
Minamata Convention
- The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury and its compound
- It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Geneva, Switzerland 2013.It entered into force in 2017
- Controlling the anthropogenic releases of mercury throughout its lifecycle is one of the key obligations under the Convention.
- It is a UN treaty
- The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues.
- India has ratified the Convention
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