Indians at risk from mercury poisoning

Millions of people are at risk from the unregulated use of mercury in India, which has become the world's biggest consumer of mercury after China. India is emerging as a hotspot for trade and unregulated internal distribution of the toxic heavy metal, which has been outlawed in many developed nations because of its effects on humans and animals. Mercury, sometimes called quicksilver, is mainly mined in Europe. The heavy, silvery-white liquid metal is highly toxic, and exposure can damage the brain, nervous system and developing fetuses. Researchers from Toxics Link in Delhi, India, carried out a series of studies looking at various aspects of mercury trade, usage and disposal in India and the findings seem to be seriously worrying. It found that millions are at risk from poisoning and there is need to regulate and monitor the use of mercury in India, just as other countries have done. Mercury, commonly used in thermometers, batteries, fluorescent lamps, industrial chemicals and paints, is mainly exported from Spain, Britain, USA, Russia, Netherlands and Finland. India imported about 2290 tonnes of mercury between 1996 and 2004. Mercury is a freely traded commodity as India has no controls over its trade or import and there is no monitoring of its imports, who uses it and what it is used for. Once in circulation in the industry, hospitals, schools and homes, it is often not used properly or disposed safely, mainly because there is a general lack of public awareness that the metal is a serious health risk. Mercury from hospital waste and broken fluorescent lamps is often discarded in garbage dumps, where children and rag-pickers use their bare hands to pick through the waste. While industry is the biggest consumer of mercury, the metal is used for rituals and ayurvedic medicines as well. The government needs to first recognise that mercury is toxic and implement strict laws to regulate the trade, usage and disposal of the metal.