Global mercury convention agreed by UN
Use of the metal in C&T products to be phased out by 2020
The use of mercury in cosmetics and soaps will be phased out by 2020 under a global treaty aimed at reducing mercury mining, industrial use and pollution. To be signed in Japan, this October, following four years’ talks coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the convention agreed on January 19 limits the exposure of humans and nature to mercury, from mining to waste disposal.
Governments agreed to ban by 2020 the use of mercury in soaps, cosmetics, thermometers and other products. UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said: “Nations have… [agreed] a global response to a pollutant whose notoriety has been recognised for well over a century.”