Japan Prepares Mercury Contamination Prevention Plan

Japan is preparing what would be its most comprehensive effort to manage mercury contamination and eventually eliminate its use, as required under an international agreement it ratified this year, an official with the Ministry of the Environment’s Office of Mercury Policy told Bloomberg BNA.

The plan, expected to go into effect early next year, will move Japan toward conformance with the Minamata Convention, which calls for major cuts in mercury use by 2020, Yusuke Igarashi said. The details are still being coordinated, but there also will be additional voluntary measures that industry can follow, he said.

Under what Japan is ...