Publication

Global Mercury Assessment Technical Background Report

05 November 2019

The Technical Background Report to the Global Mercury Assessment 2018 was produced by an international team of experts convened through a collaboration between UN Environment and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). World Health Organization experts contributed to sections dealing with mercury exposure in humans.

The Technical Background Report covers the following topics:

  • Recent advances in understanding of global mercury cycling
  • Global emissions of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources
  • Levels of mercury in air
  • Atmospheric pathways, transport and fate
  • Releases of mercury to the aquatic environment from anthropogenic sources
  • Mercury concentrations in biota
  • Relationships between trends in atmospheric mercury and mercury in aquatic biota
  • Mercury levels and trends in human populations worldwide