Government bans all use of
mercury in Sweden
Ministry of the Environment
The Government today decided to introduce a blanket ban on mercury. The ban
means that the use of dental amalgam in fillings will cease and that it will no
longer be permitted to place products containing mercury on the Swedish market.
"Sweden is now leading the way in removing and protecting the environment
from mercury, which is non-degradable. The ban is a strong signal to other
countries and a Swedish contribution to EU and UN aims to reduce mercury use
and emissions," says Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren.
The Government's decision means that products containing mercury may not be
placed on the Swedish market. In practice this means that alternative
techniques will have to be used in dental care, chemical analysis and the
chloralkali industry. The Swedish Chemicals Agency will be authorised to issue
regulations on exceptions or grant exemptions in individual cases.
In connection with the Government's decision, waste containing mercury will be
disposed of in deep geological repositories in other EU countries. The Swedish
market for hazardous waste is small. Last spring, a government inquiry
established that there are existing repositories for waste containing mercury
in, for example, Germany that more than adequately meet the safety requirements
on which Swedish legislation is based. Creating a new Swedish repository would
be around 15 times more expensive than depositing waste in existing facilities
in the EU. The bodies consulted on this matter shared the inquirys conclusions.
"By using common solutions and almost forty years of experience of storing
mercury in the EU, we are not lowering safety standards. The waste will be
transported to a deep geological repository with high safety standards. In
accordance with the polluter pays principle, the owners of the waste will be
responsible for ensuring that disposal in a repository is arranged and paying
for it," says Mr Carlgren.
The disposal possibilities in other EU countries provide better incentives for
the desired development of safe, large-scale technologies to stabilise waste
containing mercury.
Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a ban in Sweden on the
manufacture and sale of certain products containing mercury, including
thermometers and other measuring devices and electronic components.
The new regulations enter into force on 1 June 2009.
Contact
Mattias Johansson
http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/11459/a/118550