ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday underlined importance of public awareness to avoid exposure of human health and environment to hazard mercury, which poses grave risk to the sustainability of the life and environment.
The government, non government organizations, environmental experts, academia, industrialists, medical practitioners and dentists also pledged to join hands with all relevant stakeholders to play their role to eliminate use of the mercury at all levels to achieve the objectives of mercury-free Pakistan by 2020.
Addressing as a keynote speaker at the Mercury Awareness Seminar, Chief Guest Hammad Shamimi, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation) Ministry of climate change, enhancing public understanding about causes, impacts and sources of mercury to achieving the goal of mercury-free Pakistan. In this regard, the role of academia, researchers, scientists, policymakers and media is of unprecedented importance.
The seminar was organised by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility here today under the project “Development of Minamata Initial Assessment in Pakistan”.
“Exposure to mercury from environmental sources, such as contaminated fish consumption, cosmetics, dental filling, pose potential health risks to the public. But many are unaware of it because of lack of awareness. Reducing the public exposure to mercury by awareness among masses at all levels, particularly schools, colleges, universities and mass media channels,” Mr. Shamimi highlighted.
He also urged the media to join government efforts to increase public awareness to tackle adverse impacts of mercury. Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change, Mureed Rahimoon, spoke on the aims and objectives of the project and UNEP’s Minamata Convention on Mercury.
He said that the project aims for strengthening the baselines on mercury management in the country, developing national mercury inventories, piloting of sectoral action-plans as a follow-up of prioritization including indicative sampling and hammering out national mercury management plans.”
Assess the causes, sources and impacts of mercury and prepare the pave for Pakistan to permanently eliminate use of mercury at all level, particularly industrial and health sectors, are the key goals of the project, Mr. Rahimoon added.
Mr. Rahimoon told the participants that Pakistan is a signatory to the UNEP’s Minamata Convention on Mercury, including 128 countries, which is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.
Spelling out major highlights of the Minamata Convention, the climate change ministry deputy secretary told the seminar participants that “it includes a ban on new mercury mines, the phase-out of existing ones, the phase-out and phase-down of mercury use in a number of products and processes, control measures on emissions to air and on releases to land and water, “The Convention also addresses interim storage of mercury and its disposal once it becomes waste, sites contaminated by mercury as well as health issues”.
The experts also identified mercury in mining, hospitals and industrial equipment (thermometers and BP apparatus), Dental fillings, jewellery making, skin whitening creams/soaps, electric batteries, paints and fish species, which was considered one of the key causes of nervous system disorders, kidney, lungs, reproductive system and cardiovascular defects.
“Long-term exposure to the mercury vapours causes anxiety, loss of appetite, tremors, excessive shyness, irritability, changes in vision, fatigue, hearing and sleeping problems, headache, chest pain, coughing and sore throat and memory loss,” said Dr. Mahmood A. Khwaja, a well-known mercury researcher at the Islamabad-based Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
He highlighted during his speech that that mercury was not only in people, but also polluting rivers and aquaculture.
Dr. Razia Safdar from Ministry of Health spoke about the role of her ministry in protecting the country’s people and environment from exposure to mercury and said policy measures are already being taken to eliminate use mercury from the country with introduction of substitute.
She underlined a need for a viable policy mechanism in the country to control the free-wheeling use of the hazardous mercury in different forms, including cosmetic products (whitening creams and soaps), dental filling, light bulbs, medical devices (thermometers and blood pressure-related medical apparatus), vaccines, batteries.
“We hope the climate change ministry’s Minamata Initial Assessment project will help and come out with a policy mechanism to prevent use of the mercury in country and its handling with proper scientific manner, which is playing havoc with the health of the people,” Dr. Razia Safdar said.
In this regard, three-day capacity building workshop on ‘Mercury Inventory Using Toolkit of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was organised by the climate change ministry.
Project coordinator for UNEP-funded mercury-free Pakistan programme, Dr. Zaigham Abbas told participants that lack of data on the extent of mercury use and awareness gap on its health and environmental impacts, absence of adequate environmental-friendly alternative technology and funding constraints are major issues, to make mercury free Pakistan.
He emphasized that raising awareness among masses and industries, launching research on mercury use and its impacts at university level, introduction of incentives and legislation may help in control the mercury impacts on the health of people and environment.
Dr. Zaigham Abbas highlighted during his address that ministry of climate change is taking efforts to phase out mercury, in this regard, ministry held several meetings, seminars and workshops with relevant stakeholders including industries, health practitioners, provincial governments to make effective regulatory framework for implementation of Minamata Convention in Pakistan.
Assistant Professor at the department of environmental sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Dr. Sofia Khalid said pressed on need for nation-wide awareness of health concerns resulting from exposure to mercury of vulnerable populations, especially women, children to protect ,future generation.
She pledged her university’s all-out support to climate change ministry and health ministry to take effective measures regarding research on mercury issues, causes, sources and effects.
Industry representative Mohammad Khurshid Sheikh underlined that their industry has already complied with ministry’s advise and completely phased out. he emphasized that government’s support for industrial sector to reduce the use of mercury in various industrial products and introduction of economical and environment friendly alternatives.
In this seminar different schools, colleges and universities participated in quiz, paintings, speeches, essay writing to get awareness on mercury hazards and discussed on modalities of its phase out.