Mercury Retirement Canadian Assessment

1. Mercury RetirementCanadian Assessment Breaking the Mercury Cycle Boston Massachusetts May 1 – 3, 2002 Luke Trip, Manager National Mercury Programs, Environment Canada

2. Three Fact-Finding Studies • Socio-Economic Assessment of Continuing Mercury Use, 1999-2000 • Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program, 1999-2000 • Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options for Mercury

3. Socio-Economic Assessment of Continuing Mercury Use Environmental impacts • Bioconcentration in predators • Disrupts ecological balance • Human Health impacts • Developing nervous systems • Learning abilities • Cardiovascular/immunological effects • Estimating Benefits of Reductions • Willingness-to-pay survey

4. Socio-Economic Assessment of Continuing Mercury Use • Willingness-to-pay survey • Represents maximum amount an individual would pay and still be indifferent to having reduction and having kept money • Measures society’s value of environment • Ranking of major concerns • Health care • Education • Environment • Unemployment • Highway safety

5. Socio-Economic Assessment of Continuing Mercury Use • Ranking of environmental concerns • Depletion of ozone layer • Global warming • Smog in urban areas • Mercury pollution

6. Socio-Economic Assessment of Continuing Mercury Use • Pay for reductions of Hg in municipal waste • Willingness to pay annual fee (42% not able to provide estimate) • $10 or less - 21% • $11 - $49 - 12% • $50 - $100 - 20% • + $100 - 5% • Willingness to pay through taxes (32% not able to provide estimate) • $10 or less - 25% • $11 - $49 - 14% • $50 - $100 - 22% • + $100 - 7%

7. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • Establishing an inventory • Industrial/commercial products • By-product/waste generation • Institutional uses • Assessing demand/availability • Linked to USA production/recycling • Enough recycled Hg available • Production from mining other metals

8. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • Industrial/Commercial Products • 1 chlor-alkali plant - 50-60 kgs/yr • Dental amalgams - 2000 kgs/yr • Electrical devices • Thermostats - 22,700 kgs pool • Auto switches - 20,000 kgs/14million vehicles • Appliances - 7,000 kgs pool • Fluorescent lamps - 4,800 kgs pool • 10 Lighthouses - 2,200 kgs • Thermometers - 2,700 kgs pool Total approx 60,000 kgs

9. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • By-product/Waste Generation • Mining/smelting residues • “sequestered” - 110,000 kgs • Calomel export - 2,000 kgs • Ash (coal, waste) - unknown Total approx 112,000 kgs

10. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • Institutional Uses • Hospitals • Thermometers, sphygmomanometers, • - 20,000 kgs • Universities/Schools • Estimated - 5,000 kgs Total approx 25,000 kgs Grand Total approx 200,000 kgs

11. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • Existing Barriers • Low price for mercury • Economies of scale (Canadian issue) • Few strategies and programs in place • Lack of legislation • Lack of incentives

12. Establishing a Mercury Recycling and Retirement Program • Recommendations • Move from leadership to general practice • Further use reduductions • Recycle for full life cycle management • Extend education • Label products • Retirement to deal with recycled excess

13. Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options • Mercury Recycling • International initiatives • Nordic countries proactive recycling/retirement • Benelux etc. collection/recycling programs • ISO 11143 dental amalgam waste separators • North America • Proposed in N.A Mercury Action Plan • USA stronger in North East region • Canada a few voluntary initiatives • Mexico mercury still produced

14. Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options • Assessing Technologies • Ranking for Health, Safety and Environment • No releases, staff trained and protected • Ranking for Plant Operations • Length of time process used • Ease of operation • Automatic control systems • Sensitivity variations in composition • Enter Appropriate Scoring

15. Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options • Description of “Chemical” Technologies • Retorting – high temperature Hg recovery • Thermal desorption – mercury in soils • Liquid waste incineration/carbon adsorption • Rotary kiln incineration and spray injection • Ion exchange- removal from aqueous media • Amalgamation onto noble metals • Chemical precipitation • Stabilization to HgS • Encapsulation

16. Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options • Description of “Storage” Technologies • Conventional mine storage • Dry, geologically stable warehousing • Solution Mines • Salt mine caverns, self sealing • Secure Landfill • In sealed containers, no liquids, Hg < 500 ppm • Stabilization/Solidification/Landfill • In silicate/pozzolanic matrix, • Placement then sealed by slurry walls

17. Development of Retirement and Long-term Storage Options • Conclusions and Recommendations • Amalgamation and stabilization show high potential for sequestration • Mine storage - good long term potential • Minimize incineration occasions • Partner with others (USA) • Refine inventory • Develop federal strategy to support retirement

18. Concluding Statements • Mercury is a toxic substance with increasingly declining value and need as a commodity. • Leadership needs to be exercised globally to significantly reduce the amount of anthropogenic mercury available to the global pool. • The Goal: to reduce anthropogenic inputs to such a level that natural depletion mechanisms will gradually reduce atmospheric levels of mercury to those of pre-industrial times (0.5 – 0.8 ng/m3)