Wong Coby S C, Duzgoren-Aydin Nurdan S, Aydin Adnan, Wong Ming H
Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, PR China.
Sci Total Environ. 2006 Sep 15;368(2-3):649-62. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.11.024. Epub 2006 Jan 5.
This paper focuses on environmental mercury emissions in Asia and elaborates its probable trend in the future and associated implications given the anticipated socioeconomic outlook and other macro-environmental factors. Among the various regions, Asia has become the largest contributor of anthropogenic atmospheric Hg, responsible for over half of the global emission. In the next few decades, a significant increase in anthropogenic Hg emissions in Asia is likely owing to rapid economic and industrial development, unless drastic measures are taken. In particular, the dominance of Asia in some Hg-emitting industries, such as coal combustion, steel production and gold mining, provokes a serious environmental concern over their potential contributions of incidental Hg in the region. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of electrical and electronic manufacturing industry as a user and a contributor of Hg in Asia is also worrying. Specifically, disposal of obsolete electrical and electronic wastes represents a phenomenon increasingly encountered in Asia. In addition to escalating anthropogenic Hg emissions in Asia, associated environmental and health implications may also exacerbate in the region for the probable effects of a unique combination of climatic (e.g. subtropical climate), environmental (e.g. acid rain) and socioeconomic factors (e.g. high population density). Hence, much effort is still needed to understand the role of Asia in global Hg cycle and associated environmental and health effects in the region.
本文聚焦于亚洲的环境汞排放，阐述了鉴于预期的社会经济前景和其他宏观环境因素，其未来可能的趋势及相关影响。在各个地区中，亚洲已成为人为大气汞的最大排放源，占全球排放量的一半以上。在未来几十年里，除非采取严厉措施，否则由于经济和工业的快速发展，亚洲人为汞排放可能会大幅增加。特别是，亚洲在一些汞排放行业，如煤炭燃烧、钢铁生产和金矿开采中占据主导地位，引发了对其在该地区附带汞潜在贡献的严重环境担忧。此外，亚洲作为汞的使用者和排放者，电气和电子制造业的日益普及也令人担忧。具体而言，废弃电气和电子废物的处置是亚洲越来越常见的现象。除了亚洲人为汞排放不断增加外，由于气候（如亚热带气候）、环境（如酸雨）和社会经济因素（如高人口密度）的独特组合可能产生的影响，该地区相关的环境和健康影响也可能会加剧。因此，仍需要付出大量努力来了解亚洲在全球汞循环中的作用以及该地区相关的环境和健康影响。
