Bangladesh will soon ratify an international convention on mercury which is designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of this poisonous metal.
Adopted and signed in October 2013 at a diplomatic conference in Kumamoto, the convention was named after the Japanese city of Minamata that underwent a devastating incident of mercury poisoning.
The convention aims at reduction of mercury pollution from the targeted activities responsible for the major release of mercury to the environment.
Officials at the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change say 128 countries have so far signed the convention and 35 countries of the Asia-Pacific region have ratified it.
If these countries stop mercury use, they add, transportation, smuggling and use of this chemical element can increase in Bangladesh unless the convention is ratified.
According to Minamata Initial Assessment report prepared by Bangladesh in 2019, the country emits 32,660 kilogram of mercury annually from burning waste, using goods having mercury in their production, processing of oil and gas, dumping of waste, burning coal, and mercury-linked products like paints, cosmetics, bulb, battery and thermometer.
The report said some 44 per cent of mercury emitted alone from burning wastes.
A recent meeting of the ministry was told that ratification of the convention would help avail best available techniques for mercury management and foreign assistance for best environment practices.
It will also help lower health and environmental risks generated from pollutions created by mercury-contaminated medical, industry and electronic wastes.
According to officials, mercury is vastly used in dentistry, but doctors want make it free of mercury after a certain period.
The convention will not be effective just after the ratification, rather the countries concerned will get adequate time to take required preparation, they say.
A foreign ministry official told the meeting that the United Nations Environment Programme has recently requested Bangladesh to ratify the convention.
Sk Abdul Hamid, senior manager at icddr,b, says the use of mercury is causing long-lasting heart disease and hormonal disorder in the human body.
Its impacts on pregnant women and children are much higher, he adds.
Mr Hamid underscores the need for ratifying the convention to maintain the image of Bangladesh at international level.
Masud Iqbal Md Shameem, director at the Department of Environment, says Bangladesh has already ratified chemical-related international conventions like Basel Convention, Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and Montreal Protocol.
Developed countries regulate the use of mercury in their merchandise production that Bangladesh also can do after ratifying the convention, he adds.
