The government must ratify the Minamata Convention soon in order to put a stop to the use of mercury and mercury added products in the country, speakers said yesterday.
Speaking at a workshop on mercury use in Bangladesh, they said due to lack of regulation, the use of mercury has reached an alarming level and it now poses severe threat to public health as well as the environment.
They urged the government to formulate regulations and structural programmes in order to raise awareness about the harmful effects of mercury use as well as restrict it throughout the country.
The event was organised by Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO) in association with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in the capital.
A survey report on the use of mercury in Bangladesh was also unveiled at the workshop, which found that there is no effective system in place to regulate the import and use of mercury in the country, no appropriate management system of mercury extraction from the environment, and no specific guideline on the safe use of mercury added products, elements and other chemical compounds.
The report says that according to a source in the National Board of Revenue, around 3.73 tonnes of mercury is imported to the country annually. But the survey, , conducted in January-May this year, found that in reality, around 58 tonnes of Mercury is leagally and illegally imported to Bangladesh.
Mercury has wide use in industries, healthcare, energy, electronics. The ESDO found that around 1.09-6.22 tonnes of mercury vapour is emitted from dental amalgam alone in Bangladesh every year.
Dr Desiree Raquel Montecillo Narvaez, programme officer at UNEP in Geneva, Switzerland, said this report was important for Bangladesh government to raise awareness about mercury poisoning, and in policy-making regarding the use of this element.
“It will help the government ratify Minamata Convention as well,” she said.
Nurul Karim, additional secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Forests, said the government was extremely sincere about stopping the use of mercury in dental amalgam, beauty products, healthcare products, foods and children’s toys.
“Since Bangladesh has signed the Minamata Convention, we must ratify it soon. Our ministry is taking necessary steps in this regard.”
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a international treaty to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury poisoning. The treaty was ratified by 140 countries in January 2013.
“Bangladesh has signed the convention in 2013, but we have yet to ratify it. Also, according to the convention, a signatory country must ban the use of mercury and mercury-based products within 2020,” said Dr Shahriar Hossain, mercury specialist at UNEP and secretary general at the ESDO.