Slow, but sure, poisons
Mercury:Dubious Distinction
India has decided to play with the tools of the devil. It wants to import huge amounts of mercury, which the rest of the world is quickly phasing out (as it is highly toxic and dangerous). But why should this deter us?
The import of mercury waste and mercury waste compounds as constituents or contaminants is completely banned under the hazardous waste rules. But the problem is that even as we ban waste imports, we import huge amounts of mercury compounds. Mercury is a hazardous substance. But more importantly mercury is recyclable.
Therefore, it is impossible to say what we have imported as mercury is recycled waste or a virgin mineral. For instance, as huge industrial units based on mercury are being phased out in Europe and the US, these countries do not know what to do with their mercury. Spain is the key miner for the world and what is now being discussed is how the recycled waste of these phasing out countries can be sold on the world market as a primary mineral.
The world phases out. We phase in
Mercury is one of the most toxic heavy metals and has several documented, serious impacts on human health. The metal and its compounds are especially harmful to the developing nervous system of children. Methylmercury, a common compound, readily breaches the placental barrier and the blood-brain barrier. It is severely neurotoxic, and impairs the deve loping brain.
Mercury is being phased-out across the industrialised world. But not in India. We are ushering it in. India’s mercury imports have more than doubled in the past seven years