European emissions of atmospheric mercury from anthropogenic sources in 1995

Estimates of atmospheric emissions of mercury from anthropogenic sources in Europe in 1995 are presented with the information on emissions of both tot al mercury and its major chemical and physical forms. The 1995 anthropogeni c emissions of total emissions were estimated to be about 342 tonnes, a dec rease of 45% compared to these emissions in 1990. Combustion of fuels, part icularly coal has been the major source of anthropogenic emissions contribu ting to more than half to the total emissions. The emissions from coal comb ustion have not changed significantly over the past decade. Major decrease has been estimated for emissions from industrial processes, particularly th e chlor-alkali production using the Hg cell process. In 1995 the Europe emi ssions of anthropogenic mercury contributed about 13% to the global emissio ns of this element from anthropogenic sources. The anthropogenic Hg emissio ns in Europe were still higher than the natural emissions in the region, es timated to be about 250-300 tonnes per year. The accuracy of estimates of a nthropogenic emissions of Hg in Europe in 1995 is considered to be between 25 and 50%. The most accurate seem to be the estimates for combustion sourc es, while the most incomplete data were collected and/or estimated for wast e disposal. The emissions of gaseous elemental mercury contributed about 61 % to the emissions of the total mercury, while the contribution of gaseous bivalent mercury and particulate mercury was 32 and 7%, respectively. (C) 2 001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.