The Problem
Mercury Management in the Caribbean
In the Caribbean, mercury, a highly toxic element, has been found to be present in some manufactured and imported products and some industrial processes due to its useful properties, including its high density, its liquid state at room temperature and its ability to alloy to other metals. The biggest source of mercury releases globally is due to the use of mercury in most artisanal and small-scale gold mining processes. In the Caribbean region, this occurs in countries like Guyana and Suriname.
Products in which mercury can be found include mercury thermometers, compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), linear fluorescent lightbulbs (LFLs), some batteries, electrical switches and relays, silver dental amalgam fillings, certain blood pressure gauges, and some skin-lightening creams.
It is important to note that aside from mercury added skin-lightening creams, which provide for direct contact with the skin, mercury-added products are typically not harmful to health unless broken or disposed of in an environmentally unsound manner. When broken, mercury can be released into the environment.
Mercury can enter the human body through inhalation, direct contact with the skin or ingestion of the methylated form through contaminated food or water. The effects of mercury exposure on humans can vary.
To learn more about mercury, its sources and its effects on human health and the environment, follow the links below
Mercury Projects in the Caribbean
Background
Under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, developing countries and countries with economies in transition are supported by the GEF through an enabling activity to develop Minamata Initial Assessments (MIAs) in order to identify their priorities for mercury management.
Aims and Activities
Minamata Initial Assessment projects aim to enable a country to ratify and/or implement the Minamata Convention by using scientific and technical knowledge in conducting an inventory of mercury releases (and emissions) in the respective countries.
The main activities involved in the development of MIAs include:
- The identification and strengthening of the Project Steering Committee and National Coordination Mechanisms dealing with mercury management that will guide the project implementation
- The assessment of national institutional and regulatory frameworks and national capacities on mercury management
- The development of national inventory of mercury sources and releases using the UNEP Mercury Toolkit Level II
- The development of strategies for the identification of mercury contaminated sites and vulnerable populations
- The assessment of challenges, needs and opportunities to implement the Minamata Convention and development of recommendations to ratify and/or implement the Minamata Convention
- The development and validation by national stakeholders of the National MIA Report
The BCRC-Caribbean has acted as the executing agency for the following MIA projects which were implemented by UNEP:
GEF 9455 “Development of Minamata Initial Assessment in the Caribbean: Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago” (completed 2018)
National MIA Reports | Awareness Raising Material | Workshops and Activities (Images with Links)
GEF9865 “Development of Minamata Initial Assessment in the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines” (ongoing)
National MIA Reports | Awareness Raising Material | Workshops and Activities (Images with Links)
GEF 9991 “Development of Minamata Initial Assessment in the Caribbean: Belize” (ongoing)
The following documents were developed under the MIA Belize project:
Background
Globally, the largest source of mercury releases is the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector, as mercury is used in processing. Under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, Article 7 and Annex C outline the obligations that relevant Parties should take to manage mercury releases from the ASGM sector.
Aims and Activities
The “Development of a National Action Plan for ASGM in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana” project (GEF Project ID: 10153) aims to assist Guyana to take the first step to reduce and where feasible eliminate, the use of mercury and mercury compounds, and the emissions and releases to the environment of mercury from ASGM practices through the development of a National Action Plan in accordance with Article 7 and Annex C of the Minamata Convention. The project is implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme and co-executed by the BCRC-Caribbean and Ministry of Natural Resources, Guyana.
The National Action Plan on ASGM will consist of:
- Baseline estimates of the quantities of mercury used and the practices employed
- Strategies for managing trade and preventing the diversion of mercury
- Strategies for providing information to ASGM affected communities
- A public health strategy on the exposure of miners and their communities to mercury
- Strategies to prevent the exposure of vulnerable populations, particularly children and women of child-bearing age
- Strategies for market-based mechanisms or marketing tools
- Strategies to eliminate worst practices and promote mercury-free methods
- Steps to facilitate the formalisation of the strategies developed.
The project has a 2-year timeline which commenced in August 2019.
Workshops and Activities | Awareness Raising Material (Images with Links)
Background
The Basel Convention's work programme for 2017/2018 requested that the Expert Working Group on the environmentally sound management (ESM) of waste test and verify the Revised Draft Practical Manuals for the Promotion of the ESM of Wastes and Fact Sheets developed by the Expert Working Group for the Basel Convention (BC) and presented at the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the BC. It was agreed that this would be done through pilot projects conducted by Basel Convention Coordinating and Regional Centres (BCCCs and BCRCs).
Following this, the BCRC-Caribbean, in close collaboration with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and the United Nations Environment Programme, developed a project to assess the national capacities for the ESM of spent lighting products containing mercury in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Inventories of mercury releases conducted in these countries demonstrated a need for them to improve capacities for the ESM of mercury wastes including fluorescent bulbs and other mercury containing light sources.
Aims and Activities
The Project's objectives were:
- To identify and evaluate current disposal and management practices for spent lighting products containing mercury using the Revised Draft Practical Manuals for the Promotion of the Environmentally Sound Management of Wastes developed by the Expert Working Group on ESM for the Basel Convention;
- To assesses the applicability of the Revised Draft Practical Manuals to the national waste management frameworks of the project countries with the aim of identifying gaps in the guidelines and making recommendations on how the manuals could be improved.
This project was completed between May 2018 - March 2019.
ESM Reports | ESM Summary Poster (Images with Links)
Background
Methylmercury, a highly toxic organic form of mercury, bioaccumulates up the food web and is present in high concentrations in large predatory fish (WHO, 2017). Fish and other aquatic species are a large part of the diets of people living in the Caribbean. These populations could therefore be at risk to mercury exposure from the regular consumption of aquatic species contaminated by the potent neurotoxin. Exposure to mercury can have severe negative impacts on human health resulting in neurological impairment, and damage to major organs and systems.
The “Fish Mercury Biomonitoring in the Caribbean Region” project, funded by the Government of Switzerland through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), aimed to identify the risk to populations in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago from the consumption of potentially mercury-contaminated fish, and to assess and identify markets or locations that may contain elevated total mercury (THg) concentrations and that may represent a risk to fish and wildlife.
Aims and Activities
The Project's Components were:
- Component 1: Identification of biological mercury hot spots and development of sampling plan for specific species of fish
- Component 2: Human health and environment biomonitoring
- Component 3: Final report and development of communications piece
Overall, 361 samples representing 42 aquatic species were tested from the participating countries. The results of the tests were presented to national focal points to assist them in identifying potentially mercury-contaminated sites and in developing consumption guidelines for local fish species. Further studies are required to support the results obtained from testing of the limited sample size.
This project was completed between March 2018 to July 2019.
Antigua Fish Matrix | Antigua Fish Flyer (Images with Links)
Background
Mercury in the body can be released over time through a person's hair, urine and saliva. As such, monitoring of mercury levels can be done through analysis of hair, urine and saliva samples, as well as through blood samples. Hair sampling is the preferable technique for human mercury analysis as it is a non-invasive technique and can provide information about exposure to mercury over time, with particularly relevance in assessing exposure to methylmercury in the diet.
The internationally recognised threshold for concentrations of total mercury (THg) in hair is 1 part per million (ppm). Health effects to the developing fetus of pregnant women may occur with THg levels above 1 ppm. Mercury biomonitoring can assist nations with identifying and understanding the potential impacts of mercury, and developing effective strategies to assess and reduce global mercury pollution, particularly in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
Aims and Activities
The IPEN's "Global Mercury Hair Monitoring in Women of Child-Bearing Age in Small Island Developing States" Pilot Project aimed to promote global mercury monitoring efforts of humans and the environment and raise awareness about global mercury pollution. 757 hair samples from women of child-bearing age (18-44) were collected from 21 countries and tested using a methodology developed by the IPEN and the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) . Women of child-bearing age was selected as the target group due to its increased vulnerability to mercury exposure.
The BCRC-Caribbean supported the IPEN and the BRI through coordination of hair sampling in eight (8) Caribbean countries by local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and shipment of the samples to an internationally certified laboratory for testing. Participants received their individual results along with information to assist with the interpretation of their results.
This project was completed between March to December 2018.
Final IPEN Document | IPEN SIDS Frequently Asked Questions (Images with Links)