Europe and the Czech Republic will minimize mercury
Governance
Last week, on April 23, the government adopted draft legislation amending four Czech laws in connection with the adoption of the European Mercury Regulation. Mercury and its compounds are very toxic to all living organisms including humans, ecosystems and nature. In addition, mercury is a very resistant substance and its emissions in the air spread globally by long-range atmospheric transmission.
Mercury is stored and accumulated in the food chain, especially in fish, in its most toxic form. Mercury and its compounds are particularly harmful to the nervous and cardiovascular system of all living organisms. It is especially dangerous for pregnant women (penetrates through the placental barrier into the fetus) and young children in whom it has been shown to slow the development of the nervous system.
On a global scale, our civilization contributes to the growth of mercury emission sources and its compounds, primarily by burning fossil fuels, especially coal, by crematorium operation, using dental amalgams, batteries and measuring instruments. The industry is increasing global mercury pollution primarily by producing chlorine and alkaline hydroxides using amalgam electrolysis and gold mining with amalgam technology.
At European level, there have long been more than 40 laws (regulations, directives) to reduce the risk associated with the negative effects of mercury on man and the environment. These include environmental legislation (water, air, soil), hazardous chemicals (marketing, risks), hazardous waste, food contamination, the introduction of new technologies, the use of sewage sludge in agriculture, and limiting the range of products containing mercury (toys, cosmetics, measuring and laboratory apparatus and equipment).
On 17 May 2017, Regulation (EU) 2017/85 of the European Parliament and of the Council on mercury was adopted due to a lack of measures to address the global problem with mercury. Specifically, it concerns restrictions on imports of metallic mercury, restrictions on the export of mercury-containing products, restrictions on the use of mercury in certain production processes and on new productions and products, the ban on small-scale gold mining using mercury and the restriction on the use of dental amalgam.
This European regulation should now be transposed into Czech legislation to better protect human health and the environment, amending four specific laws: the Public Health Insurance Act, the Waste Act, the Chemical Act and the Health Services Act.
The amendments to European and Czech legislation supports a worldwide solution to the issue of mercury management, which, due to the long-range transmission of mercury emissions, will contribute to improving the environment and increasing the protection of human health in the Czech Republic.