Mercury Policy & Science

Mercury Matters 2020

On April 16, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overturned the Agency’s prior determination and deemed that it is not “appropriate and necessary” to regulate mercury and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from oil- and coal-fired power plants under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. According to legal scholars, this decision undermines the foundation of the MATS rule and invites challenges to the emissions standards themselves. More details are available in Mercury Matters 2020: A Science Brief for Journalists.

UN Technical Background Report to the Global Mercury Assessment 2018 Released

The UN’s Technical Background Report to the Global Mercury Assessment 2018 was released recently (see link on right side of page). Dartmouth SRP director Dr. Celia Chen is a co-author of chapter 7 on “Mercury concentrations in biota.”

U.S. EPA Coal Plant Mercury Emissions Rule-Proposed Changes in Rulemaking

Dartmouth Superfund Research Program Director and Researcher Celia Chen is interviewed by National Public Radio and quoted in several media stories regarding the US EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) proposal to change the way the federal government calculates the costs and benefits of dangerous air pollutants. The Washington Post; USA Today

Mercury Matters 2018

A Science Brief for Journalists and Policymakers

Mercury Matters 2018 is a summary of the latest information on mercury research on health and environmental effects, improvements occurring since the adoption of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), and evidence of the health benefits from mercury reductions.

Paper Calls for Need for Mercury Science to Inform Global Policy

Dartmouth Superfund Research Program Director and researcher Celia Chen is the lead author on the paper A Critical Time for Mercury Science to Inform Global Policy. The paper discusses mercury science in relation to policy developments.

Mercury Synthesis Paper Summary Fact Sheets Inform Implementation of the Minamata Convention

These fact sheets were developed to summarize the four mercury science to policy papers as a translation tool for the Conference of the Parties of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-1) delegates and others attending the Convention to inform them about the latest mercury science and the gaps in knowledge. They summarize information from all four papers pertaining to Policy, Air, Land and Water.

Summary Fact Sheets United Nations Languages
Summary Fact Sheets in English: Policy; Air; Land; Water

Celia Chen at COP-1 Meeting

Dartmouth Superfund Program researcher Celia Chen participated in the first Conference of the Parties of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-1) on September 26-29, 2017 in Geneva Switzerland. She brought fact sheets summarizing four science to policy papers to inform the delegates about the latest mercury science and the gaps in knowledge. The four papers are associated with the four plenary synthesis themes that were produced for ICMGP2017. Each will connect mercury science to regulatory issues and policy implementation, as well as communication of science to stakeholders.

13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) Science to Policy Synthesis Workshop

On July 16, 2017 thirty scientists and policy stakeholders attended a day-long workshop, Integrating Mercury Research and Policy in a Changing World, as part of the ICMGP 2017 meeting. Organized and led by the Dartmouth SRP Research Translation Core, the workshop provided the opportunity for face-to-face communications between mercury science experts and national and international policymakers and stakeholders. Presentations by policymaker and stakeholder representatives identified questions and knowledge gaps in mercury research to be addressed in a series of 4 synthesis papers on different aspects of mercury pollution. The workshop culminated with a full-group discussion on how to translate these synthesis papers to have a bigger impact on mercury policy. See a more detailed summary and photos.

Supreme Court Decision Blocks EPA Rules on Mercury Emissions

A 2015 US Supreme Court decision has blocked implementation of federal EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)rules that would have required power plants to clean up mercury emissions. See PRI story describing the ruling and possible next steps.

Minamata Convention for Mercury

The Minamata Convention for Mercury is a Global Treaty that reduces mercury emissions and releases and was formally adopted as international law on October 10, 2013.

C-MERC Applauds Bill to Track Mercury Pollution

Dartmouth’s C-MERC applauds the introduction of the “Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act,” bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Thomas Carper (D-DE) on September 19, 2013. This legislation would create a new comprehensive mercury monitoring program across the U.S. with sites that would measure mercury levels in air, water, and living organisms. The introduction of this bill is especially timely given that the global treaty on mercury, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, is scheduled to be adopted and opened for signature in October.

Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative (C-MERC)