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USGS · 70048156

Global change and mercury

Abstract

More than 140 nations recently agreed to a legally binding treaty on reductions in human uses and releases of mercury that will be signed in October of this year. This follows the 2011 rule in the United States that for the first time regulates mercury emissions from electricity-generating utilities. Several decades of scientific research preceded these important regulations. However, the impacts of global change on environmental mercury concentrations and human exposures remain a major uncertainty affecting the potential effectiveness of regulatory activities.

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David P. Krabbenhoft, Elsie M. Sunderland. 2013. Global change and mercury. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1242838

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