Mercury is a naturally occurring element that originates in the earth's crust and can be found in air, water, fish, and other animal and plant life. Mercury exists in three forms: elemental, organic compounds, and inorganic compounds.

Mercury is widely used in industry because of its diverse properties. In very small quantities, mercury conducts electricity, responds to temperature and pressure changes, and forms alloys with almost all other metals. Mercury serves an important role as a process or product ingredient in several industrial sectors, including the electrical industry, navigational devices, instruments that measure temperature and pressure, and other related uses. It also is a component of dental amalgams used in repairing dental cavities.

In addition to specific products, mercury is used in numerous industrial processes, including the production of chlorine and caustic soda by mercury cell chlor-alkali plants, amalgamation, use in nuclear reactors, wood processing (as an anti-fungal agent), use as a solvent for reactive and precious metals, and use as a catalyst. Mercury compounds are also frequently added as a preservative to many pharmaceutical products.

Globally, the major anthropogenic sources of released elemental mercury into the atmosphere are the combustion of coal, oil and wood as fuel, the use of elemental mercury in artisanal gold mining, and volcanoes and forest fires.

Some of the emitted elemental mercury following deposition and transformation into divalent mercury can be biotransformed into methylmercury. Methylmercury is a persistent and bioaccumulative neurotoxin. Exposure to methylmercury most commonly occurs when people eat fish and shellfish that have high levels of methylmercury in their tissues.

https://www.epa.gov/mercury

Environmental Laws that Apply to Mercury

The Clean Air Act regulates 188 air toxics, also known as “hazardous air pollutants.” Mercury is listed as one of these air toxics. The law also includes special provisions for dealing with air toxics emitted from utilities, giving EPA the authority to regulate power plant mercury emissions.

Under the Clean Water Act, states adopt water quality standards for their rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands. These standards identify acceptable pollution levels in water for many pollutants, including mercury.

EPA and U.S. states also issue information to the public on waters contaminated with mercury, the harmful effects of mercury, identify mercury sources, and warn people about eating fish containing high levels of methylmercury.

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 requires that industrial and federal facilities report emissions of chemicals, including emissions of mercury and mercury compounds. Reporting is done through EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires that EPA manage hazardous wastes, including mercury wastes, from their generation, through storage and transportation, to their final treatment and disposal.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), EPA sets standards for drinking water that apply to public water systems. These standards protect people by limiting levels of mercury and other contaminants in drinking water.

The Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act of 1996 (Battery Act) phases out the use of mercury in batteries.

The Mercury Export Ban Act intends to reduce the availability of elemental (metallic) mercury in domestic and international markets. By reducing the supply of metallic mercury in commerce, the act aims to reduce the use of mercury for commercial purposes globally.

https://www.epa.gov/mercury/environmental-laws-apply-mercury

Ohio Lumex offers a range of Mercury Analyzers and Sorbent Traps that provide spot check or online & real-time measurements to control and monitor emissions and processes.

Ohio Lumex is the go-to mercury monitoring expert often called upon by private, commercial, and regulatory agencies. Our environmental and process monitoring equipment and services are utilized on a global scale.

The introduction of a cutting edge mercury analyzer to the U.S. market was critical in measuring low levels of mercury in ambient air at spill sites and soon became the industry standard.

Following the mercury vapor analyzer's success and the introduction of the Clean Air Mercury Rule, Ohio Lumex made significant technological advancements in mercury measurement technology for compliance with US EPA regulations, including sorbent traps, sorbent trap analyzers, and continuous emissions monitors (CEMs).

Mercury Monitors, Analyzers, and Instruments