Trends in anthropogenic mercury emissions estimated for South Africa during 2000–2006

Masekoameng, K. Elizabeth; Leaner, Joy; Dabrowski, J.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.05.006

Cited by 41 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, no exceptionally high GEM/CO, GEM/CO 2 , and GEM/CH 4 emission ratios were found for these events. This supports the contention of Dabrowski et al (2008), Leaner et al (2009), andMasekoameng et al (2010) that gold production does not contribute substantially to mercury emissions in South Africa. However, it should be noted that from an ecosystem perspective this does not necessarily imply that cyanide-leaching is the preferable or more sustainable way for gold production.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Thus we conclude that there is no sign of extraordinary high GEM/CO, GEM/CO 2 , and GEM/CH 4 emission ratios in pollution plumes originating in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Gauteng. This finding is consistent with the emission estimates by Dabrowski et al (2008), Leaner et al (2009), andMasekoameng et al (2010) who deem substantial mercury emissions from gold production non-existent because of the use of cyanide extraction process.…”

Section: Geographical Origin Of the Pessupporting

confidence: 82%

“…A total elementary mercury emission of 14.8 t Hg yr −1 (range 11.1-18.5 t Hg yr −1 ) in South Africa is more than one order of magnitude lower than 256.7 t Hg yr −1 estimated by Pacyna et al (2003 and2006) but they are close to estimates of 40 t Hg yr −1 in 2004 by Leaner et al (2009) and 50 t Hg yr −1 in 2006 by Masekoameng et al (2010) which also include emissions of oxidized and particle bound mercury. Leaner et al (2009) andMasekoameng et al (2010) do not provide any information about the uncertainty of their emission estimates but as coal burning in power stations represents about 75 % of all emissions, its uncertainty will determine the uncertainty of all emissions.…”

Section: Gem Emission Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…The emissions were attributed to coal burning and gold production in equal parts. Whereas the emissions from coal burning are reasonably well documented, the large emission from gold production has been found to be incorrect as industrial gold production in South Africa relies almost exclusively on cyanide technology which does not emit mercury (Dabrowski et al, 2008;Leaner et al, 2009;Masekoameng et al, 2010). According to the more recent inventories the mercury emissions in South Africa amounted to 40 t Hg yr −1 in 2004 (Leaner et al, 2009) and 50 t Hg yr −1 in 2006 (Masekoameng et al, 2010).…”

Section: E-g Brunke Et Al: Emissions Of Mercury In Southern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leaner et al (2009) andMasekoameng et al (2010) do not provide any information about the uncertainty of their emission estimates but as coal burning in power stations represents about 75 % of all emissions, its uncertainty will determine the uncertainty of all emissions. Taking an uncertainty of ±25 % of Hg emissions for stationary fossil fuel combustion estimated by Pacyna et al (2010) the total mercury emissions were 30-50 t Hg yr −1 in 2004 and 37.5-62.5 t Hg yr −1 in 2006.…”

Section: Gem Emission Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emissions of mercury in southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Mercury emissions in South Africa have so far been estimated only by a bottom-up approach from activities and emission factors for different processes. In this paper we derive GEM/CO (GEM being gaseous elemental mercury, Hg 0 ), GEM/CO 2 , GEM/CH 4 , CO/CO 2 , CH 4 /CO 2 , and CH 4 /CO emission ratios from plumes observed during long-term monitoring of these species at Cape Point between March 2007 and December 2009. The average observed GEM/CO, GEM/CO 2 , GEM/CH 4 , CO/CO 2 , CH 4 /CO 2 , and CH4/CO emission ratios were 2.40 ± 2.65 pg m −3 ppb −1 (n = 47), 62.7 ± 80.2 pg m −3 ppm −1 (n = 44), 3.61 ± 4.66 pg m −3 ppb −1 (n = 46), 35.6 ± 25.4 ppb ppm −1 (n = 52), 20.2 ± 15.5 ppb ppm −1 (n = 48), and 0.876 ± 1.106 ppb ppb −1 (n = 42), respectively. The observed CO/CO 2 , CH 4 /CO 2 , and CH 4 /CO emission ratios agree within the combined uncertainties of the observations and emissions with the ratios calculated from EDGAR (version 4.2) CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 inventories for South Africa and southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) in 2007 and 2008 (inventories for 2009 are not available yet). Total elemental mercury emission of 13.1, 15.2, and 16.1 t Hg yr −1 are estimated independently using the GEM/CO, GEM/CO 2 , and GEM/CH 4 emission ratios and the annual mean CO, CO 2 , and CH 4 emissions, respectively, of South Africa in 2007 and 2008. The average of these independent estimates of 14.8 t GEM yr −1 is much less than the total emission of 257 t Hg yr −1 shown by older inventories which are now considered to be wrong. Considering the uncertainties of our emission estimate, of the emission inventories, and the fact that emission of GEM represents 50-78 % of all mercury emissions, our estimate is comparable to the currently cited GEM emissions in 2004 and somewhat smaller than emissions in 2006. A further increase of mercury emissions due to increasing electricity consumption will lead to a more pronounced difference. A quantitative assessment of the difference and its significance, however, will require emission inventories for the years of observations (2007)(2008)(2009) as well as better data on the speciation of the total mercury emissions in South Africa.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Geographical Origin Of the Pessupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Gem Emission Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: E-g Brunke Et Al: Emissions Of Mercury In Southern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gem Emission Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emissions of mercury in southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

et al. 2012

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Measuring Gas Phase Mercury Emissions from Industrial Effluents

Ippolito

Sabri

Bhargava

2011

Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology of Mercury

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Modeling Mercury Flows in Thailand on the Basis of Mathematical Material Flow Analysis

Wongsoonthornchai

Kwonpongsagoon

Scheidegger

2015

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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Mercury pollution is a global problem, because it can be transported across borders and released from both natural and anthropogenic sources. In this paper, we studied the mercury flows in Thailand originating from anthropogenic sources (from intentional and unintentional use) in 2010, giving for the first time a comprehensive overview over mercury stock and flows including emissions in Thailand. Mathematical material flow analysis was applied to calculate the stock of mercury and its flows in the country. All available data from various sources such as statistical data, literature, surveys, and interviews with experts were used. The results showed that total mercury emissions were about 57 000 kg/year, 61% of them to land, 35% to air, and 4% to water. The largest mercury input comes as impurities in imported zinc, followed by domestically mined gold ores in which mercury is also an impurity. The largest stock of mercury is found in dental amalgam, followed by air conditioners and sphygmomanometers. The scenarios developed here were designed to reduce mercury emissions. Unintentional use alone can reduce total mercury emissions by about 33%, while around 5% of the potential reduction comes from intentional use. Changes in combined unintentional and intentional use can lead to the highest potential reduction.

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Trends in anthropogenic mercury emissions estimated for South Africa during 2000–2006

Cited by 41 publications

References 16 publications

Emissions of mercury in southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

Emissions of mercury in southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

Measuring Gas Phase Mercury Emissions from Industrial Effluents

Modeling Mercury Flows in Thailand on the Basis of Mathematical Material Flow Analysis

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