Integrating Knowledge to Inform Mercury Policy

汞存在于许多消费品中，包括LCD屏幕和节能灯泡。在处置含汞产品时，以及在燃煤发电厂等工业过程中，汞会被排放到环境中。然而，汞可能对人类健康造成危害，特别是因为它有在鱼类体内积累的趋势。因此，英国及其欧洲邻国多年来一直在努力寻找减少环境中汞含量的方法。在未来三年内，将全面禁止消费品中的汞，以进一步减少进入全球环境的汞量。汞也从火山等一些自然来源排放到环境中，但这些自然来源与工业流程和消费品的相对贡献存在很大的不确定性。只有在我们充分了解人为和自然来源的汞的贡献之后，我们才能有合理的信心确认上述欧洲联盟政策是否产生了预期的影响。我们希望建立一个知识转移网络，将学术机构、工业界和政府聚集在一起，解决其中的一些问题。这将通过讲习班、报告和网站来实现。通过将这三个部门结合在一起，该倡议将使政府有机会明确要求学术界和工业界提供有助于指导和制定未来汞政策的信息。只有通过互利的互动，才能成功地制定和执行减少环境中汞风险的政策。

Mercury is found in many consumer products, including LCD screens and energy-efficient lightbulbs. It is emitted to the environment when products containing mercury are disposed of, as well as from industrial processes such as coal fired power plants. Mercury can, however, be a human health hazard; particularly as it has a tendency to accumulate in fish. Consequently, the UK together with it's European neighbours has been for a number of years trying to find ways of reducing the amount of mercury in the environment. Within the next three years a total ban on mercury in consumer products will be introduced to further curtail the amount of mercury entering the global environment. Mercury is also emitted into the environment from a number of natural sources such as volcanoes, but there are significant uncertainties as to the relative contribution of these natural sources versus industrial processes and consumer products. We will only be able to confirm with reasonable confidence whether the above European Union policies have had the impact intended once we fully understand the contribution of both man-made and natural sources of mercury. We wish to establish a knowledge transfer network to bring academic institutes, industry and government together to address some of these questions. This will be done by means of workshops, reports and a website. By bringing together these three sectors, the Initiative will provide government with the opportunity to explicitly request information from academia and industry which will help to guide and formulate future mercury policy. Only through mutually beneficial interaction will be able to successfully develop and implement policy which will reduce the risk from mercury in the environment.