Press Release: Environment: Commission welcomes adoption of legislation to ban EU mercury exports

The European Commission welcomed the final adoption by the Council today of legislation banning all exports of mercury from the European Union. The export ban is a key part of the EU’s strategy for reducing the global supply of mercury and thereby limiting emissions of the highly toxic heavy metal into the environment. The legislation requires mercury that is no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry – the chemical industry sector responsible for chlorine and caustic soda production – or that is produced in certain other industrial operations, to be put into safe storage once the export ban takes effect in March 2011.