The recent 10^th International Conference on Mercury as Global Pollutant (ICMGP),  co-sponsored and co-hosted by Environment Canada, successfully engaged a diversity of policymakers, non-governmental organizations, academics, and government scientists in discussions of how to use the best-available science on the fate and distribution of mercury in the environment to inform risk management and regulatory decisions. For example, much of the discussion related to the science to support an upcoming set of negotiations for the United Nations Environment Program to develop a legally binding instrument for the reduction of global mercury emissions. 

Participants at this meeting of more than 900 people from 48 countries heard that despite significant decreases in domestic mercury emissions, fish and wildlife inhabiting various regions of Canada continue to be exposed to levels of mercury in the environment that exceed risk guidelines for biota and humans. They also learned about advances in instrumentation to measure mercury species in the air that have enabled large intercomparison studies between Canada and the United States. 

The ICMGP is the preeminent international forum for presenting the latest scientific advances related to mercury in the environment. Other co-sponsors included Health Canada, the Northern Contaminants Program at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and various other non-government organizations.

Contact: Alexandra Steffen (conference co-chair), Air Quality Research, 416-739-4116