The issue of mercury use from perspective of environmental threats

Živo srebro je stoletja ljudi privlačilo k raziskovanju te tekoče kovine. Nekateri so verjeli, da je vir nesmrtnega življenja, spet drugi, da se jo lahko pretvori v zlato. Obenem pa so jo ljudje uporabljali za najrazličnejše namene, da bi si olajšali življenje. Vendar pa so se šele z napredkom tehnologije pričele kazati temne plati, ki sta jih prinesla rudarjenje in uporaba živega srebra. Prve žrtve strupene kovine so bili rudarji v rudarskih obratih in ljudje, ki so živeli v neposredni bližini. Skozi razvoj je bilo živo srebro vedno pogosteje uporabljeno na vse številnejših področjih in v vedno večjih količinah, s tem pa se je povečalo tudi onesnaževanje. Šele ko so ekološke nesreče terjale tisoče žrtev, se je svetovna javnost zganila in napisala Konvencijo Minamata o živem srebru, mednarodna pravila, ki so problematiko živega srebra uredila celostno od rudarjenja kovine, uporabe in vse do trenutka, ko ta postane odpadni material. Da bi razumela, kako kompleksna je težava, ki jo predstavlja toksičnost živega srebra, in kakšen vpliv ima na naravno okolje in ljudi, sem pregledala številno literaturo in ugotovila, da antropogene emisije resno ogrožajo naravno okolje, živali in človeka. Ugotovila sem, da je konvencija sicer pripomogla k začetku aktivnega reševanja problematike, vendar to še zdaleč ni dovolj. Prav tako samo z opustitvijo rabe živega srebra v raznih industrijskih panogah ne bo preprečen njegov negativen vpliv na živa bitja, saj je kovina v naravnem ciklu izjemno obstojna in potrebuje stoletja, da se dokončno posede na oceansko dno ter preneha s kroženjem. Na drugi strani pa so tu še emisije, ki jih povzroča kurjenje premoga in predstavljajo velik delež živosrebrnih izpustov. Problematiko poglablja še dejstvo, da so nekatere dejavnosti, ki se povezujejo z uporabo živega srebra, neformalne, kar pomeni, da so bolj dovzetne za kriminalne aktivnosti. Čeprav se je na nekaterih področjih uporabe živega srebra problematika izboljšala, je zelo pomembno, da se reševanje negativnega vpliva živega srebra z ratifikacijo konvencije ne ustavi. Za začetek je potrebno aktivno iskanje alternativ, ki bi zamenjale uporabo živega srebra, povečan nadzor podjetij, ki v svojih obratih na kakršen koli način uporabljajo to kovino, predvsem pa je potrebno ozavestiti ljudi, ki se po mojem mnenju še vedno premalo zavedajo, kako velik vpliv ima lahko živo srebro na njihovo zdravje.Mercury has attracted people to explore this liquid metal for centuries. Some believed that it was a source of eternal life while others thought it could be turned into gold. Besides that, people would use it for a number of different purposes to make their lives easier. Only with the development of technology could we notice the dark side of mining and mercury use. The first victims of this poisonous metal were miners in mining plants and people who lived nearby. Through development, mercury was used more and more frequently in a lot of different areas and in bigger amounts, which resulted in increased pollution. It was only after ecological disasters claimed thousands of lives that the world public reacted and wrote the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which is a set of international rules that regulates mercury comprehensively, from the point when it is mined, to its use and to the moment when it becomes waste material. To understand how complex the problem posed by mercury toxicity is and what impact it has on its natural environment and people, I examined an extensive amount of literature and found that anthropogenic emissions seriously endanger the natural environment, animals and people. I have found that, although the Convention has helped people to start actively resolving this issue, it is far from being enough. Furthermore, by merely stopping the use of mercury in different industrial plants, we will not prevent its negative effects on living beings. That is because the metal has an extraordinary persistence and needs in its natural cycle hundreds of years to finally settle on the ocean floor and end its circulation. What is more, there also exist emissions that are caused by burning coal, which present a significant part of mercury emissions into the environment. The problem is made even greater by the fact that some of the activities related to mercury use are informal, which means they are more susceptible to criminal activities. Even though some aspects regarding the issue have already improved, it is still very important to note that ratifying the Convention alone will not be enough to get rid of the negative effects of mercury entirely. We first need to actively start searching for alternatives to replace the use of mercury and increase control over the companies that use mercury in any way. In my opinion, we should especially focus on raising awareness about the effects mercury can have on people’s health