Evaluating the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury: Principles and recommendations for next steps

Evers, David C.; Keane, Susan E.; Basu, Niladri; Buck, David G.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.001

Cited by 117 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…In October 2013, 128 countries signed a new global treaty called the Minamata Convention (UNEP 2013) with the overall objective to “protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.” This Convention will be instrumental for reducing the use and release of Hg into the environment and metrics are being developed that could be used for evaluating its effectiveness (Evers et al submitted ). As such, one metric will likely be based on biotic Hg concentrations from key bioindicators.…”

Section: 0 Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada

Jackson

Evers

Eagles‐Smith

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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The widespread distribution of mercury (Hg) threatens wildlife health, particularly piscivorous birds. Western North America is a diverse region that provides critical habitat to many piscivorous bird species, and also has a well-documented history of mercury contamination from legacy mining and atmospheric deposition. The diversity of landscapes in the west limit the distribution of avian piscivore species, complicating broad comparisons across the region. Mercury risk to avian piscivores was evaluated across the Western United States and Canada using a suite of avian piscivore species representing a variety of foraging strategies that together occur broadly across the region. Prey fish Hg concentrations were size-adjusted to the preferred size class of the diet for each avian piscivore (Bald Eagle=36 cm, Osprey=30 cm, Common and Yellow-billed Loon=15 cm, Western and Clark’s Grebe=6 cm, and Belted Kingfisher=5 cm) across each species breeding range. Using a combination of field and lab-based studies on Hg effect in a variety of species, wet weight blood estimates were grouped into five relative risk categories including: background (<0.5 μg/g), low (0.5 – 1 μg/g), moderate (1 – 2 μg/g), high (2 – 3 μg/g), and extra high (>3 μg/g). These risk categories were used to estimate potential mercury risk to avian piscivores across the west at a 1 degree-by-1 degree grid cell resolution. Avian piscivores foraging on larger-sized fish generally were at higher relative risk to Hg. Habitats with relatively high risk included wetland complexes (e.g., prairie pothole in Saskatchewan), river deltas (e.g., San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, Columbia River), and arid lands (Great Basin and central Arizona). These results indicate that more intensive avian piscivore sampling is needed across western North America to generate a more robust assessment of exposure risk.

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confidence: 99%

Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada

Jackson

Evers

Eagles‐Smith

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Moreover, DBS sampling shows great potential for researchers interested in carrying out contaminant monitoring in difficult‐to‐reach regions of the world. New tools that alleviate the costs and logistical difficulties of sampling (tissue importation, cold chain custody, sampling gear, and fieldwork complexities) will benefit temporal and spatial monitoring of Hg in biota, which is critical for assessing the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention (Evers et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, levels of Hg have increased in the Arctic during the Anthropocene, with data indicating that a significant fraction of the Hg in arctic organisms is of human origin (Dietz et al 2009; Beal et al 2015). To evaluate the effectiveness of international mitigation strategies for Hg, both the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (2011) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury (Evers et al 2016) highlight the need for continued spatial and temporal monitoring of Hg in biota.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Landlocked Arctic char ( Salvelinus alpinus ) has been identified as an ecological health bioindicator of Hg contamination for the Arctic (Evers et al 2016; Barst et al 2019). This top predator fish is an excellent sentinel for Hg contamination in the Arctic because it is often the only fish inhabiting arctic lakes, has a circumpolar distribution, is long‐lived, and is sensitive to environmental change (Power et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dried Blood Spot Sampling of Landlocked Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) for Estimating Mercury Exposure and Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting of Essential Amino Acids

Barst

Wooller

O’Brien

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Dried blood spots (DBS), created by applying and drying a whole blood sample onto filter paper, provide a simple and minimally invasive procedure for collecting, transporting, and storing blood. Because DBS are ideal for use in field and resource‐limited settings, we aimed to develop a simple and accurate DBS‐based approach for assessing mercury (Hg) exposure and dietary carbon sources for landlocked Arctic char, a sentinel fish species in the Arctic. We collected liquid whole blood (from the caudal vein), muscle, liver, and brains of Arctic char (n = 36) from 8 lakes spanning a Hg gradient in the Canadian High Arctic. We measured total Hg concentrations ([THg]) of field‐prepared DBS and Arctic char tissues. Across a considerable range, [THg] of DBS (0.04–3.38 μg/g wet wt) were highly correlated with [THg] of all tissues (r2 range = 0.928–0.996). We also analyzed the compound‐specific carbon isotope ratios (expressed as δ13C values) of essential amino acids (EAAs) isolated from DBS, liquid whole blood, and muscle. The δ13C values of 5 EAAs (δ13CEAAs; isoleucine [Ile], leucine [Leu], phenylalanine [Phe], valine [Val], and threonine [Thr]) from DBS were highly correlated with δ13CEAAs of liquid whole blood (r2 range = 0.693–0.895) and muscle (r2 range = 0.642–0.881). The patterns of δ13CEAAs of landlocked Arctic char were remarkably consistent across sample types and indicate that EAAs are most likely of algal origin. Because a small volume of blood (~50 µL) dried on filter paper can be used to determine Hg exposure levels of various tissues and to fingerprint carbon sources, DBS sampling may decrease the burdens of research and may be developed as a nonlethal sampling technique. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:893–903. © 2020 SETAC

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“…Past work has focused on approaches to achieving this in a sound, evidence-based manner, particularly calling out the environmental sciences community (Evers et al 2016). Article 14 focuses on building capacity and providing technical support to low-and middle-income countries, and this necessitates that environmental scientists continue to pursue (and escalate), global exchanges of information that span training and research, in particular between the global north and south hemispheres.…”

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confidence: 99%

Evaluating the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury: Principles and recommendations for next steps

Cited by 117 publications

References 96 publications

Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada

Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada

Dried Blood Spot Sampling of Landlocked Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) for Estimating Mercury Exposure and Stable Carbon Isotope Fingerprinting of Essential Amino Acids

The Minamata Convention on Mercury and the role for the environmental sciences community

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