Jesús Ignacio López Olvera, Deputy Director of Transboundary Movements, Semarnat and Chair of the Mercury Task Force of the SMOC project, spoke at the CEC Chemicals Management Forum in San Antonio, Texas, on May 15, 2012. More at: http:/www.cec.org/chemicals2012

1. Risk Reduction Activities
Mercury Task Force
Chemicals Management Forum
San Antonio, Texas
May 15-16, 2012
Commission for Environmental Cooperation

2. Overview
 North American Regional Action Plan
for Mercury
 Risk assessment and management
activities 2000-2010
 Future direction
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3. Mercury Task Force Background
 CEC Council called for North American Regional
Action Plan for Mercury
 Mercury Task Force created by SMOC to develop
and implement NARAP
 Goal reduce anthropogenic releases of mercury to
naturally-occurring levels.
 Finalized in 2000, envisioned as a 10-year plan.
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4. Risk assessment and management
activities included in Mercury NARAP
Actions were taken in four primary areas :
 Atmospheric emissions of mercury
 Mercury in processes, operations and products
 Mercury waste management approaches
Research, monitoring, modeling, assessment and
inventories
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5. Atmospheric emissions of mercury
Goal: reduce air emissions 50% by 2006 (1990
baseline)
 Canada, United States exceeded goal
 Mexico- established baseline emissions
inventory prepared with CEC support in 2001
(preliminary) and updated in 2008
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6. Mercury in processes, operations
and products
Reduce use of mercury in products and processes
 Significant reduction in the use of mercury in
switches, batteries and measuring devices.
 Mercury use phase-out in chlor-alkali plants,
other industries.
 CEC Americas workshop to reduce mercury use
in products CEC-supported work in Mexico to
reduce mercury use in hospitals
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7. Mercury supply and waste management
 CEC- supported efforts to identify options for
managing mercury products, especially from
hospitals
 New CEC waste management study in 2012
 Mercury supply issues (not included in NARAP but
identified as focus area):
– CEC Mexican Mercury Market Report identifies
product and elemental imports, exports and uses.
– CEC assessment of primary and secondary mercury
supplies in Mexico investigates production potential
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8. Improved monitoring and assessment
 CEC-supported wet deposition monitoring in
Mexico:
 Participation in North American Wet Deposition
Network
 Mexico: January 2012, Celestun became part of
the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS).
 CEC Tri-national Maternal Blood Contaminant Study
 Proname index monitoring sites for PBTs include
mercury (CEC-supported)
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9. Future Direction
 SMOC Working Group reaffirmed need for ongoing
trilateral coordination to:
 Manage mercury use and supply, reduce releases
 Bring countries to a common level of capacity to reduce
risks
 Current CEC mercury activities:
 Development of 5-year mercury strategy
 Tri-national mercury waste management options
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10. For more information
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
http://www.cec.org/Page.asp?PageID=924&SiteNodeID=1
058
US Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/
Environment Canada
http://www.ec.gc.ca/toxiques-
toxics/Default.asp?lang=En&n=98E80CC6-
1&xml=9767F4A9-2EF7-4A00-B3AF-D900394C6EC6
Instituto Nacional de Ecología
http://www.ine.gob.mx/
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11. ¡¡GRACIAS!!
Three countries. One environment.
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