Indonesia facing growing mercury pollution issue

Mercury pollution isn't exactly getting the headlines like this is the case with some other forms of pollution, though in some areas of the world this form of pollution should be taken very seriously. One of the countries affected with mercury pollution is Asian country, Indonesia.

It has been said that the main source of mercury pollution in Indonesia is small-scale gold mining. Many poor people in Indonesia are interested in gold mining as this not only gives them hope for the future but it is also relatively easy to apprehend.

The simple gold mining process includes mixing mercury and water with gold ore to form an amalgam. This amalgam is then heated to remove mercury by the process of evaporation, leaving behind the gold. So what's the issue here? Well, the water containing mercury residue is usually discarded directly into rivers.

Mercury can cause major health issues. It has been said that chronic poisoning can result in damage to the kidneys and the reproductive system, and on the other hand the lungs and central nervous system can also be severely affected.

The additional problem is that many people aren't aware of the dangers of mercury poisoning which is really no surprise given Indonesia's lack of adequate funds.

Professor Takanobu Inoue of Toyohashi Tech's Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering who studied the mercury pollution issue in Indonesia has called for collaboration between the different research institutes in order to get a more comprehensive study with actual numbers.

The United Nations Environment Program, estimated that in 2011 approximately 70 tonnes of mercury was discharged into the environment though this number does not cover illegal import meaning that the actual figure in Indonesia is likely to be significantly higher.

Mercury pollution continues to grow in oceans

The human activities such as fossil fuel burning, mining, and other industrial processes have contributed to a significant rise of mercury pollution in our oceans. In fact, researchers say that the mercury pollution in the surface ocean has more than doubled in the last 100 years.

For the last two years, a Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative (C-MERC) team of scientists has examined the mercury sources and levels in Hudson River Estuary, San Francisco Bay, Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Maine, Arctic Ocean, and the open ocean. In their latest report they said that mercury released into the air and then deposited into oceans contaminates fish and other seafood commonly eaten by people in the U.S. and rest of the world.

They also said that „mercury deposited from the atmosphere ranges from 56% of the mercury loading to several large gulfs to approximately 90% in the open ocean“.

The consumption of ocean fish such as tuna can lead to high mercury exposure.

Mercury is very harmful neurotoxin that can lead to many adverse health effects and exposure to higher concentrations of mercury can even cause permanent neurological and brain damage.

For most of people in the world the main source of mercury exposure is through the consumption of ocean fish such as tuna. What this means is that decreasing the levels of mercury pollution in our oceans would lead to healthier diet because we would be eating fish without having to worry whether we are exposed to increased levels of mercury pollution when doing so.

The scientists also report than mercury concentrations in fish population would decline roughly in proportion to decreases in mercury inputs. The problem here is that achieving any significant decrease in mercury pollution requires substantial cuts in emissions from industrial sources such as coal power plants because there is already a large quantity of mercury in terrestrial environments and ocean waters.

If we want to have healthy fish on our dinner tables we will have to find the way to reduce mercury pollution from our industry. The good staring point would be to impose much stricter mercury pollution standards for fossil fuels fired power plants.