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INDUSTRIAL LIGHTING
Minamata Convention on Mercury
- a global treaty on mercury
Minamata in Japan was the site of a major industrial
incident in May 1956. A massive amount of mercury
waste entered the Minamata Bay from a local chemical
plant. Many of the population were slowly poisoned
and later died after eating fish contaminated with
mercury from the bay. Ultimately, 900 people died and
2,265 were known to have exhibited the symptoms of
mercury poisoning. Minamata is considered the worst
industrial mercury poisoning event in history and a new
global treaty was named after the city in recognition of
this tragedy.
In February 2009, the Governing Council of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed on the
need to develop a global legally binding treaty on the
use of mercury - the Minamata Convention.
“The objective of this Convention is to protect
the human health and the environment from
anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and
mercury compounds.”
Source: UNEP Minamata Convention on Mercury, Text
and Annexes, page 6, October 2013
Mercury is a neurotoxin and is dangerous to humans.
Many common products contain small levels of
mercury including some lighting products. End-of-life
products containing mercury are often sent to landfill
in Australia. Mercury released into landfill converts
into the toxic methylmercury. Methylmercury can be
transported long distances through the atmosphere
and can eventually enter the food chain through fish
and shellfish.
The Australian Government became a signatory to
the Minamata Convention in late 2013. There are 128
GOVLINK » ISSUE 3 2016
signatory countries and the implementation of the
Minamata Convention will occur when at least 50
countries have ratified the agreement. China recently
became the latest country to ratify the treaty joining
other countries such as Japan, Switzerland, the United
Arab Emirates and the United States of America. It is
expected that the Australian Government will ratify the
Convention in early 2017.
In October 2013 signatories to the Minamata
Convention agreed on global targets to reduce mercury
levels for some lighting products by 2020 and also to
the phase out of high pressure mercury vapour lamps.
High pressure mercury vapour lamps are commonly
used in street and public lighting in Australia. It should
be noted that international lighting manufacturers have
substantially reduced the levels of mercury used in
lamps over the past 20 years. Without mercury vapour
there would be no chemical reaction to create light
however the lighting industry has been unsuccessful
in finding an effective replacement for mercury, even
after testing other elements. The Minamata Convention
recognises the continuing need for the availability
of some mercury-containing lamps for commercial
use. The Australian lighting industry through Lighting
Council Australia has already committed to the new
agreed mercury levels, many of which are already in
place, and to the phase out of high pressure mercury
vapour lamps by 2020. Please refer to an excerpt from
the UNEP Minamata Convention on Mercury, Text
and Annexes, Annex A: mercury-containing products,
included on page 6 of this document for full details.
As a postscript, it is worth noting that the increasing
global uptake of solid state lighting technology - also
known as LEDs, or light emitting diodes - is reducing
the need for mercury-containing lamps in many
applications. LEDs contain no mercury.