Global health effects of future atmospheric mercury emissions

Abstract

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that poses health risks to the global population. Anthropogenic mercury emissions to the atmosphere are projected to decrease in the future due to enhanced policy efforts such as the Minamata Convention, a legally-binding international treaty entered into force in 2017. Here, we report the development of a comprehensive climate-atmosphere-land-ocean-ecosystem and exposure-risk model framework for mercury and its application to project the health effects of future atmospheric emissions. Our results show that the accumulated health effects associated with mercury exposure during 2010–2050 are $19 (95% confidence interval: 4.7–54) trillion (2020 USD) realized to 2050 (3% discount rate) for the current policy scenario. Our results suggest a substantial increase in global human health cost if emission reduction actions are delayed. This comprehensive modeling approach provides a much-needed tool to help parties to evaluate the effectiveness of Hg emission controls as required by the Minamata Convention.

Bottom-Heavy Trophic Pyramids Impair Methylmercury Biomagnification in the Marine Plankton Ecosystems

“…Methylmercury (CH 3 Hg + , MMHg) is a strong neurotoxin that can induce neurocognitive defects in fetuses and cardiovascular diseases in grown-ups. − Human’s MMHg exposure is primarily from the ever-increasing consumption of seafood. − Once MMHg passes through cell membranes, it strongly binds with protein sulfhydryl or selenium and is very slow to be eliminated . Therefore, MMHg undergoes significant biomagnification in the marine food webs.…”

Global health impact of atmospheric mercury emissions from artisanal and small-scale gold mining

“…The median urine, blood, and hair Hg levels in ASGM population groups are typically ∼10 times higher than the general populations ( Gibb and O’Leary, 2014 ; Basu et al., 2018 ). A rough first-order estimate shows that the magnitude of the risk imposed on this population group is ∼4% of the global total MeHg exposure risk of the general population caused by all sources ( Zhang et al., 2021 ). This finding confirms the importance to consider not only the local impact but also the global effect associated with ASGM.…”

Mercury pollution in China: implications on the implementation of the Minamata Convention

“…2 Low-level, long-term MeHg exposure in pregnant women could reduce the intelligence quotient (IQ) of infants, which will cause significant economic loss to society. 3…”

“…2 Low-level, long-term MeHg exposure in pregnant women could reduce the intelligence quotient (IQ) of infants, which will cause signicant economic loss to society. 3 Human activities have profoundly altered the global cycling of Hg in the atmosphere. Hg is the only metal that occurs in the atmosphere mainly in the gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) form that has a long residence time (0.5-2 years) in the atmosphere, while other atmospheric forms including gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate bound mercury (PBM) generally represent a minor fraction of the total atmospheric Hg and are readily deposited on the earth's surface because of their relatively short atmospheric residence time (e.g., days to weeks).…”