Legal Framework for Control of Mercury Pollution in Ambient Air–A Review on Best Environmental Practices (BEP) and Best Available Technologies (BAT) for Mitigation of Mercury Pollution

Traces of mercury present in the ambient air has led the world to talk about mercury pollution in the environment that consequently resulted in the introduction of the Minamata Convention (MC) on Mercury, an international treaty on mercury. It was signed on 10th October 2013 in Japan that became effective from 16th August 2017. The Minamata Convention is a global treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions of mercury and its compounds. The MC recognizes mercury as a pollutant of global concern considering mercury to be capable of long-range transport, to be persistent, and to bioaccumulate, which ultimately results in elevated human exposure levels associated with a range of negative health effects.