INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONS OF MERCURY IN FINLAND BETWEEN 1967 AND 1987

Mercury pollution has been studied in Finland since 1960. In the 1960's, industrial use of Hg was about 50 t yr-1, 80% of which was consumed by chlor-alkali plants. In the 1980's, about 19 to 25 t yr-1 Hg was used and compared to past consumption, its use has decreased by 40 to 50%. In 1987, the import of Hg through raw materials and other sources in Finland was, however about 170 t yr-1 which is rather high. There are no detailed statistics about Hg emissions in the 1960's. In 1967, air and water emissions of Hg were 2.8 and 8.3 t yr-1, respectively. In 1987, estimated air emission of Hg was 3.48 t yr-1 whereas water emission was 0.15 t yr-1. Aquatic emission has been lowered by 50% which is due to the fact that pulp and paper industries stopped using Hg as slimicide. On the other hand, the air emission of Hg has not decreased. This is due to the high Hg content in raw materials used by metallurgical and power plants.