Assessing background mercury deposition and emissions in Canada

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Mercury is ubiquitous in the global environment, including sensitive receptors such as the Canadian Arctic, and is of concern due to its toxicity, persistence and ability to bio-accumulate and bio-magnify in various food chains. While some mercury is released into the environment through natural sources such as volcanoes, most of the mercury present in the environment can be attributed to man-made sources such as fossil fuel combustion, waste incineration, and metal processing. Once the mercury is released into the atmosphere, it undergoes a complex cycle involving transformations, atmospheric transport, and eventual deposition to terrestrial and aquatic surfaces. Under favourable weather conditions, the mercury can volatilize back into the atmosphere to undergo further long range transport and deposition cycles, thus making mercury a truly global pollutant.