Bender Michael, Lymberidi-Settimo Elena, Groth Edward
Mercury Policy Project, Zero Mercury Working Group, 1420 North St, Montpelier, VT, USA.
European Environmental Bureau, Zero Mercury Working Group, Brussels, Belgium.
J Public Health Policy. 2014 Feb;35(1):1-13. doi: 10.1057/jphp.2013.39. Epub 2013 Oct 3.
More than a decade in the making, a new, legally binding treaty on mercury will be adopted by governments in the fall of 2013. The treaty's objective is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic mercury emissions through a range of provisions - including an article devoted to reducing exposure to mercury. Global emissions have increased since 2005, with the environmental health burden increasingly shifting to developing countries. Time is of the essence to reduce pollution because (i) exposure risk to mercury is much greater than previously thought and (ii) mercury already in the environment can be re-emitted via processes in the natural cycle, resulting in a longer lag time before pollution reduction can have a demonstrable effect on the food chain. Health professionals can assist in reducing exposure, choosing mercury-free products and urging governments to ratify the treaty as quickly as possible so that it can take effect.
历经十余年努力，一项具有法律约束力的新型汞条约将于2013年秋季由各国政府通过。该条约的目标是通过一系列条款保护人类健康和环境免受人为汞排放的影响，其中包括一项专门致力于减少汞接触的条款。自2005年以来，全球汞排放量有所增加，环境卫生负担日益向发展中国家转移。减少污染刻不容缓，原因如下：（i）汞接触风险比之前认为的要大得多；（ii）环境中已有的汞可通过自然循环过程再次排放，导致在减少污染对食物链产生明显影响之前会有更长的延迟时间。卫生专业人员可协助减少汞接触、选择无汞产品，并敦促各国政府尽快批准该条约，使其能够生效。
