First page

Articles & documents from before (and later)

The Swedish mercury flow presented in three tables (after Ingvar Skare)

 

Contents:

• Table 1: SWEDISH MERCURY CONSUMPTION AND DEPOSITS IN 1996
• Table 2: GOODS AND PRODUCTS IN THE SWEDISH MERCURY FLOW
• Table 3: TO NATURE AND END DEPOSIT

 

Table 1

SWEDISH MERCURY CONSUMPTION AND DEPOSITS IN 1996
For consumption from import, or trade within the country	CONSUMPTION	From consumption to emissions to air, or to deposit in soil/SAKAB
300 kg/year	CHLORALKALI INDUSTRY Deposit: 300 000 kg To this should be added polluted soil around earlier plants. Skutskär, MoDo and more Change of deposit: 0 kg/year In 2010 these two plants are to be wound up according to Swedish EPA, but no binding agreements yet. The Swedish EPA has asked the industry for an analysis on the consequences of different years of winding up. KEMI sees the law proposal as an opportunity to an allover close down of chloralkali industry in Sweden.	200 kg/year to air
		100 kg/year to soil/sewage
1000 kg/year	ALL AMALGAM CARRIERS Deposit: 100 000 kg Change in deposit: - 2500 kg/year	1500 kg/year dentistry (separated particles) to SAKAB
		100 kg/year (fine dust + Hg°) to air/sewage
		400 kg/year cremation/air + 1500 kg/year burials in soil
		100 kg/year from urine/faeces to sewage system
2000 kg/year	GOODS AND PRODUCTS incl fluorescent lamps/batteries/instruments/lab (shown in the table below!)   Deposit: 100 000 kg   Change in deposit: - 20 000 kg/year (if medium depreciation time is 5 years)	19 000 kg/year to SAKAB
7 000 kg/year hidden import
8 000 kg/year reexport
Remarks: SAKAB, Skutskär, and MoDo are names of companies (SAKAB is the main plant in Sweden for hazardous waste). KEMI is short for the national agency for control of chemicals.

 

 

Table 2

GOODS AND PRODUCTS IN THE SWEDISH MERCURY FLOW
0 kg/year?	LABORATORY ACTIVITIES New instruments are not allowed to be bought. Thermometers totally 150 kg. Reagents banned.	to SAKAB 10 m3 COD-solution/year
600 kg/year?	INSTRUMENTS	to SAKAB
300 kg/year	FLUORESCENT LAMPS Ban of lamps with Hg-contents above norm is suggested.	300 kg/year to SAKAB
1400 kg/year	BATTERIES Tax increase with a factor of 60. Lower EU:s permitted contents of Hg in batteries.	1400 kg/year to SAKAB

 

 

Table 3

TO NATURE AND END DEPOSIT
FROM WHERE?	DEPOSITION	EMISSION
From the atmosphere 10 000 kg/year of which 3 000 kg/year is a natural basic level, viz. global spread from volcanos and oceans.	THE SWEDISH SURFACE Deposit (soil, lakes, sediments): ? Change in the deposit: + 10 000 kg/year but: + 3 000 kg/year even if all anthropogenic activity ends! Perspective on mining projects.	To the atmosphere 1 000 kg/year viz. our emissions from deposits, cremation plants and industries (emissions from soil and lakes are negligible).
FROM CULTURE TO NATURE
Chloralkali industry 200 kg/year to air 100 kg/year to soil/sewage
All amalgam carriers 600 kg/year to air/sewage systems
Goods & products 19 000 kg/year	SAKAB Deposit: ? Change in deposit: + 22 000 kg/year
All amalgam carriers through dentistry 1 500 kg/year (separated particles)
	0 kg/year
	Deposition in rock shelters of mercury waste after sorting and possibly enriching.   Proposal will come from the National EPA in 1997.
CONCLUSION: We will have an ongoing increase of the amount of mercury in the environment regardless from our behavior because of the increase of entropy in the world. The only thing we can do, is to counteract/avoid increases in local concentrations (occupational environment, fish, &c)   INGVAR SKARE (thoughts on a report 961127)   [editor's translation from Swedish]