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Assessment of Mercury Releases from the Russian Federation

6 Summary and Discussion

• 6.1 Use and Mobilisation of Mercury in the Russian Federation
• 6.2 Releases of Mercury from the Russian Federation
• 6.3 Mercury in Solid Waste

6.1 Use and Mobilisation of Mercury in the Russian Federation

The intentional use of mercury in the Russian Federation and the mobilization of mercury impurities are summarized in table 6.1. The assessment does not include possible applications within the defence industry.

Intentional uses of mercury

The total intentional use of mercury in 2001/2002 is estimated at 155 t/year. The estimate is quite certain as actual information on mercury use have been obtained from the major mercury consuming enterprises. According to the Financial Department of the Ministry of the Economic Development and Trade of RF the potential annual demand of mercury in Russian enterprises in 1999-2001 was 280-300/year (section 2.3). The discrepancy between these data and the result of the present assessment may be due to the following reasons: (1) potential demand is based on the design capacities of the facilities which are not fully loaded in the latest years; (2) within the mentioned period some of Russian enterprises using considerable amounts of mercury have been closed; (3) mercury consumption is decreasing or varies from year to year at some enterprises; (4) mercury consumption for "other applications" may be significant and (5) the present assessment covers civilian applications only.

The main application area is still chlor-alkali production in which the mercury is used as electrode. The consumption (the amount purchased) for this application was in 2002 about 103 t, but the amount varies from year to year and the consumption may be higher in some years. Another 7.5 t of mercury in the form of mercury chloride was used as catalyst for the production of vinyl chlorine monomer (VCM that is used for production of PVC). For both applications the mercury is used as process chemical and a very small part of the used mercury follows the final products. Until recently mercury was also used as catalyst for production of vitamin B2 and some dyes, but this production has ceased.

Mercury used for production of thermometers and lamps accounted for the major part of mercury consumption for production of consumer products. As concerns mercury-containing consumer products, Table 6.1 indicates the amount of mercury used for production of these products. The amount of mercury in products sold on Russian market is different from the amount used for production. This is a consequesce of different technological losses of mercury, as well as export and import of mercury-containing goods. The total content of mercury in consumer products sold on the Russian market is estimated at about 18 t (Table 6.2). The consumption of mercury for production of thermometers, galvanic cells and batteries and other measuring and electrotechnical equipment has decreased several times during the last decade, and the production of some appliances (such as mercury switches, valves, manometers, barometers etc.) has with a few exceptions ceased. Mercury may still be present in some imported products, e.g. blood pressure gauges and switches in some cars; mainly manufactured in America). The total import of mercury with this equipment is estimated to be less than 2 t. Contrary to many Western countries mercury use in stomatology has almost completely been ceased in Russia.

Table 6.1 Use and mobilization of mercury in the Russian Federation, 2001/2002

* Mercury in oil refined in RF

** Includes mercury in concentrates. The total mercury content of mined ores may be considerably higher.

Table 6.2 Mercury in consumer products supplied to Russian market, 2001

* Including import/export

Gold mining using the amalgamation method is prohibited in Russia. It is, however, estimated that some illegal activities take place in remote areas, and the total use of mercury for gold mining in 2001 is roughly estimated at 3-8 t. As the activities are illegal it has not been possible to confirm this expert estimate with official statistics. The amount is ten-fold lower than the approximately 40 t/year used for gold mining in the period 1976-1990. "Other uses" column in Table 6.1 includes production of semiconductors, production of ultra-pure metals by amalgamation and other possible mercury uses. For these uses it has not been possible to obtain information on actual mercury consumption.

Mobilisation of mercury impurities

The total mobilization of natural mercury impurities (mercury as a trace element) in processed and used materials and products is of the same magnitude as the intentional uses. The total mobilization of mercury is estimated at 138 t with a range of 66-198 t indicating that the estimates are quite uncertain. The major categories are coal, oil and nonferrous metallurgy.

In total, about 20-24 t of mercury is mobilized with coal; mainly used for power and heat production and production of coke. The mercury content of coal from different coal fields of Russia may twofold differs, and the uncertainty on the estimate of the total mobilization is a consequence of the uncertainty on the mercury content of the coal actually used. Compared to mercury in other fossil fuels and in ores mercury in Russian coal is well-investigated.

The content of mercury in crude oil and natural gas is as well very variable depending on the geology of the oil and gas fields. Based on the available data on mercury in crude oil it is estimated that about 33 t is mobilized with oil processed in RF. Besides, nearly the same amount would be present in the crude oil exported for processing abroad. As mentioned above, these estimates are based on the mercury concentration in crude oils, but it is unknown how much of this that actually goes with the oil for refinery/export after the initial processing of the oils. Due to the high variability of the mercury content of the crude oil (range by a factor of 50) and a limited dataset, the total mercury mobilised is encumbered with high uncertainty and the range of uncertainty is roughly estimated at 5-50 t. Compared to the data reported from other countries the average mercury concentration of the Russian crude oils are quite high, this may reflect actual geological differences in formation and localization of oil fields, but may also reflect that more data is available on mercury in oil and gas from fields located within mercury provinces, hyper tectonism zones etc. In order to reduce the uncertainty on the estimate, crude oil samples from the major Russian oil fields and samples of refinery feedstock should be analyzed. The total mobilization of mercury with natural gas, gas-condensate, oil-shale and bio-fuels is estimated at 9 t, broken down into 8 t with gas and condensate, 0.6 t with oil-shale and 0.4 t with bio-fuels. The mercury in natural gas mainly follows the stable condensate from the purification, and the mercury content in the purified gas conducted to the consumers or exported is insignificant.

The mobilization of mercury by use of bio-fuels differs form the other categories by the fact that this mercury in any case would be released when the biomass was decomposed.

A significant amount of mercury is mobilized by extraction of ores, in particular ores of zinc, copper, nickel, lead and gold. The table 6.1 shows the mercury content of metal concentrates processed by Russian metal smelters.

The major part of mercury is mobilized with zinc and copper concentrates. By the processing the mercury is either emitted to the air, ends up in waste or ends up in co-products like sulphuric acid. An insignificant part follows the refined metals to the consumers. By-extraction of mercury at gold production is estimated at 4-8 t/year. The greater part of it ends up in tailings and dumps and about 20 % may be emitted to the atmosphere.

Mercury mobilization by production of cement is estimated at 1.6-2.8 t originating from the mineral raw materials and fuels. Mercury in lime will also be mobilized by the burning of the lime for production of quick lime. In the lack of data, this activity is not included in the assessment, but the mobilization will be significantly lower that the mobilization by cement production.

Development in intentional use of mercury

The total consumption of mercury for intentional uses in the Russian Federation has decreased significantly from 866 t/year in 1989 to 155 t/year in 2001 (see table 6.3). The trend in mercury consumption in Russia thus follows the general trend in the world of decreased use of mercury for most intentional applications. The per capita consumption of 1.1 g/capita in Russia in 2001 was slightly lower than the consumption in the USA, 1.2 g/capita in 1998 (based on "reported consumption" in Sznopek, Goonan, 2000).

Table 6.3 Consumption of mercury in the Russian Federation 1989-2001

n.i.: not included

* Source: Yusfin, Zaletin, 1998

6.2 Releases of Mercury from the Russian Federation

Judged from the available data, the main direct pathway for releases of mercury from the technosphere to the environment is atmospheric releases. Mercury releases to the atmosphere in Russia are summarized in Table 6.4. The table shows best estimates and an indication of the uncertainty on the emission estimates. The amount of mercury mobilised with fossil fuels and ores is, as indicated in the previous Table 6.1, quite uncertain and to this uncertainty adds the uncertainty on the fate of the mercury by the combustion or processing. There are almost no data available of measurements of actual mercury emissions especially in the sectors and activities where mercury is mobilised as a natural impurity. Whereas data for emission have been obtained from enterprises intentionally using mercury e.g. in the chemical industry.

No data on the speciation of the mercury releases from Russian sources have been available. For the understanding of the atmospheric transport, fate and the potential environmental impact of the released mercury it is essential to have more information on the speciation of the mercury releases.

Intentional uses

Based on the available data, the atmospheric release of mercury from chlor-alkali and caustic soda production in 2002 is estimated at 1.2 tonnes. This represents the direct releases with ventilation air and flue gas. Besides, some mercury releases may take place from the territory of the enterprises; either from mercury mechanically lost or from on-site Hg-containing waste dumps. In the present assessment more than 50 t mercury is unaccounted in the balances and this mercury is assumed primarily to be lost to structural building parts and the ground below and around the facilities. The presented estimates of air emission from the chlor-alkali processes are identical with the enterprises' reporting to the environmental authorities and the official mercury emission inventory (Annex 1). How much of the unaccounted losses that sooner or later is emitted to the air is an open question, not only as regards Russia, but in international reporting like the reporting on the European chlorine industry to the OSPAR commission (OSPAR 2001). In the OSPAR reporting the "difference to balance" is not further interpreted, but it should be noted that this "difference to balance" in most countries represent a significant part of the total mercury flow though the chlor-alkali sector. It should further be noted that the releases and unaccounted losses vary very much among the enterprises.

Atmospheric emissions of mercury from the production of mercury-containing consumer products are described in detail in the report (see above). The emission may create local technogenic pollution zones in the environment and have impact on the working environment, but in the national inventory they account for less that 1% of the total mercury emission to the atmosphere.

Re-mobilisation of mercury

The assessment indicates that releases of mercury by gold mining of secondary placers, i.e. tailings from former mining activities using the amalgamation method, is a significant source of mercury emission to the air. The atmospheric releases from the activities may amount to 0.9-3.9 t/year or about 60% of the total Hg content in the processed placers (1.5-6.5 t/year). During the history of gold mining some 6,000 t of mercury has been used for gold mining in Russia. The main part of this may still be present in the waste heaps and a part of this is emitted to the air as the tailings are heated for extraction of the residual gold. Newly developed equipment and technologies exist for condensation of mercury evaporized from the process, but the use of the equipment is not widespread.

By the mining activities the re-mobilisation of mercury from the wastes is accelerated, but the mercury releases from all kind of mercury-containing waste may in fact be significant. Only very limited is known on the release rates of mercury from waste and other secondary releases has not been quantified.

Mobilisation of mercury impurities

Mobilisation of mercury in fossil fuels, ores and other minerals account for the major part of the air emission from the Russian territory. The major part of this is released from point sources: power plants, metal smelters, coke plants, cement plants, etc. Due to the volatile nature of mercury much emission abatement control equipment - efficient in dust releases control - is only to a minor degree able to retain the mercury released from the raw materials by combustion or heating processes. Consequently a significant part of the mercury mobilised will be released to the atmosphere.

By the use of coal, a total of about 14 t of mercury was released in 2001, broken down into 8 t from the electricity producing sector (combined power and heat plants), 1.3 t from coke production, 2 t from municipal (boiler houses) and domestic heating and 3 t from other uses of coal. Combined power and heat plants are equipped with controls for dust releases and to some extent equipment for desulphurization, but it is roughly estimated that still some 80% of the mercury content of the coal is emitted to the atmosphere.

A part of the mercury present in crude oil will by the refining end up in the oil refinery products and ultimately be released to the air by the combustion of the products. Comparing the total mercury content of crude oil for refining in Russia with the total emission by combustion of the petroleum products indicates that a significant part of the mercury is released either by the initial treatment of crude oil or by the refinery process. Due to the lack of information about the fate of mercury by the processes, no attempt has been done to estimate the potential releases from these processes. The knowledge on the fate of mercury in oil refinery activities is in general very limited all over the world and it has not been possible to obtain a first estimate by using distribution factors adapted from other countries.

Table 6.4 Releases of mercury to the atmosphere in the Russian Federation, 2001/2002

* Secondary mobilisation of mercury previously used for gold mining using the amalgamation method

** Air emission from use of by-products like sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, bitumen, etc. has not been assessed but may be significant

*** Direct emissions from the processes. A certain amount of mercury may be emitted to the atmosphere in the so-called unaccounted losses of mercury which in 2002 were equal to 50 tonnes.

**** Uncertainty categories:
A: Based on specific information from enterprises - uncertainty connected to unaccounted releases
B: Experts estimates - the true value is most probably within a range of ± 50% of the best estimate
C: Expert estimates - the true value may quite well be beyond the a range of ± 50% of the best estimate

In the non-ferrous metal sector a smaller part of the mercury present in the concentrates is emitted to air as a significant part of the mercury is captured, in particular in the controls for sulphur emission. It is estimated that in Russia about 8 t/year in total is emitted to the atmosphere, mainly from zinc, copper and nickel production.

The emission to the atmosphere from incineration of solid waste is roughly estimated at 3.5 t. Only a small part of the country's municipal solid waste is incinerated at 4 incinerators. The main source of mercury in the waste for incineration is anticipated to be mercury thermometers, batteries, light sources and switches.

Comparison with other inventories

According to the official Russian environmental statistics about 2.9 t mercury was released to the atmosphere from technogenic sources in 2001. These data are based on the reporting of the individual enterprises to the environmental authorities. As a rule in Russia the enterprises and organizations report only on emission of pollutants included into MAE regulations or certificates for technological equipment, i.e. in case particular mercury emission is not covered in the mentioned special documents and regulations its release to the environment is not registered. Besides, only enterprises intentionally using mercury (chlor-alkali facilities, production of lamps, thermometers etc.) have the obligation to report mercury emissions. For these activity categories the estimates of the present assessment is in due accordance with the official data. In some cases the official data include information from a few metal smelters, but in general mobilised mercury impurities are not included into the environmental reporting as the enterprises, utility plants, etc. have no obligation to report on the emissions of mercury.

Inventories of mercury emissions from Russia and other countries have recently been carried out as a part of the international INTAS project "Development of methods for trace metal emission evaluation and their implementation for flux estimates in NIS territory, including economic aspects of flux reduction" (Pacyna 2003a). Based on the INTAS data, updated estimates of the mercury emission from Russia has been done as part of the EU MERCYMS project (Pacyna 2003b). The data are in Table 6.5.compared with the estimates of the present project. The estimates of the MERCYMS projects are quite well in line with the results of the present assessment as regards coal combustion, pig iron and cement productions and non-ferrous metals production. The release from coal combustion is higher in the MERCYMS inventory - in particular as regards residential heating. In total the release from coal combustion is twice as high in the MERCYMS inventory. The release from waste incineration is significantly lower in the MERCYMS inventory. In the current assessment, the release of mercury from waste incinerators is compared to the estimated mercury content of the waste and on this background it is estimated that the emission from waste incineration most probably is underestimated in the MERCYMS inventory. According to the MERCYMS inventory mercury emission from chlor-alkali production is very high and is the main source of mercury emission to the atmosphere in Russia. The high estimates are based on the assumption that unaccounted mercury losses are included into bulk atmospheric emissions of mercury, which is probably not correct. More probably the greater part of mercury included into the category "unaccounted losses" (which is determined based on the difference in balance – see Section 3.1 of the present report) is released to the terrestrial environment in the industrial zone of the enterprise. And the air emissions estimates are based on the measured emission with ventilation air and flue gasses. These estimates of air emission from the processes are in accordance with the enterprises' reporting to the environmental authorities and the official mercury emission inventory (Annex 1). It is worth mentioning once again that in the international reporting like the reporting on the European chlorine industry to the OSPAR commission (OSPAR 2001) the "difference to balance" (which is similar to "unaccounted losses") is noted without further interpretation, whereas the unaccounted differences in most countries account for a significant part of the total mercury flux through the process at chlor-alkali facilities. As time goes by a particular part of this mercury is probably released to the atmosphere, but the quantitative assessment of this source requires special investigations. According to the authors the reported emission from lead production actually represents the total emission from the nonferrous metal sector and is of same magnitude as estimated in this project.

Table 6.5 Emission of mercury to atmosphere from Russia in 2000 according to the estimates done within the MERCYMS project (based on Pacyna, 2003b)

* Best estimate

** In addition a part of the 56 t unaccounted losses may directly or indirectly be releases to the atmosphere.

Mercury in waste water and releases to water bodies

Compared to the atmospheric emissions, direct release to water bodies appears to be a minor pathway for mercury releases from the technosphere to the environment. According to the official statistics, the total discharges of mercury with industrial wastewater to water bodies amounted to 0.16 t in 2001. The major source category is chemical industry, production of chlor-alkali first of all.

Based on data on mercury in municipal sewage sludge it is estimated that the total discharges from municipal sewage plants may constitute 3.4-11.9 t. A similar amount may end up in sewage sludge which is mainly disposed of to sludge beds and dump sites. In many Russian cities the industrial discharges are delivered directly to the municipal sewer system and then together with municipal sewage treated at municipal wastewater treatment plants. The major sources of mercury in the municipal sewage is probably mercury from dental clinics, mercury from broken thermometers and electrotechnical equipment (e.g. broken switches), and rain water. A significant part of the mercury-containing appliances produced ten to twenty years ago may still be in use and, when broken, a part of the mercury may end up in the drain.

Direct mercury releases to land

The major source of direct mercury releases to land (excluding waste dumps) is releases to the ground from chlor-alkali production. A significant part of the 50 t/year of unaccounted losses is assumed to be directly lost to the ground below and around the production facilities. Mercury may as well accidentally be lost to the ground by other types of production involving mercury. A number of the most mercury contaminated sites around production facilities - closed or still in operation - are listed in the assessment.

The use of mercury-containing pesticides is prohibited in Russia. Nevertheless in 2001 mercury-containing pesticides (basically Granosan) were still used in agriculture and might be a source of about 0.6 t of mercury released to terrestrial environment. Today, up to 20 t mercury in obsolete mercury-containing pesticides is stored around the country. Many of the storehouses located in rural areas are in inadequate condition and there is a risk of releases of the pesticides to the surroundings.

In Russia a few percent of the sewage sludge is used for agriculture and less than a tonne of mercury may be spread with sewage sludge on the fields. The typical concentration of mercury in the sludge is far below the MAC of mercury in sludge used for agricultural purposes in Russia. The mercury content of mineral and organic fertilisers applied in Russia has not been quantified as part of this inventory.

By burials the mercury content of the dental amalgams will sooner or later be released to the ground on the cemeteries. Mercury in dental amalgams in buried corpses may be several tonnes per year.

Indirect releases via products

During various technological processes mercury may end up as occasional impurity in the finished products or by-products (see Table 6.6). It is estimated that more than 16 t/year ends up in these products. The fate of this mercury has not been investigated, but it is assumed that it will be released to the environment or end up in waste products. The mercury content of oil refinery products - apart from petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oil - has not been assessed, but the total mercury content may be significant.

Table 6.6 Mercury impurities in products and by-products not further assessed, 2001

n.a Not assessed

6.3 Mercury in Solid Waste

Mercury in waste products is summarised in Table 6.7. In total at least 98 t mercury ended up in waste products disposed of for landfills/dumpsites whereas about 32 t was recycled (waste and ferrous metals processing). It should be noted that mercury in the waste products will be at various chemical forms and by this have different mobility. As for atmospheric emission only best estimates are shown with an indication of the uncertainties.

In total 39 t mercury was disposed of with waste from chlor-alkali production. The waste was mainly stored in waste dumps at the production sites. At present no external recycling of mercury from chlor-alkali production waste takes place. Contrary to this, the main part of the waste from the production of VCM was recycled for production of new catalysts. Mercury waste disposed of to waste dumps from production of mercury-containing products was insignificant (in total 0.3 t).

Mercury compounds which have been used in analytical and scientific laboratories are typically neutralized and disposed of to landfills.

Of the estimated 3-8 t mercury used for illegal gold mining 0.6-1.6 might have ended up in the tailings from the mining process.

About 5.6 t mercury ended up in bottom ash and fly ash from coal combustion. A minor part of the fly ash is used for cement production, but the major part is disposed of to landfills.

A total of about 11 tonnes of mercury accumulated in waste from smelting in non-ferrous metallurgy. A very significant amount of mercury ends up in tailings from ore processing and is disposed of to waste dumps, but it has not been possible to quantify the amount in this inventory. It is unclear to what extent mercury in the mining waste is mobile and released to the surroundings. Some investigations indicate that mercury in tailings from coal concentrate production may to some extent be mobile and emitted to the atmosphere.

If the data of Table 6.1, Table 6.4 and Table 6.7 are combined, the estimated mobilised mercury exceeds the total of the releases to air and the mercury in waste products by about 75 t. The difference illustrates that the actual fate of the mobilised mercury is still poorly understood, and the volumes that end up in waste products may be significantly higher than the indicated amounts.

The content of mercury in municipal solid waste is estimated at 24 t at the least. Almost no data are available on the mercury content as natural trace element in all types of waste. The major source of mercury in the waste is deemed to be broken mercury thermometers. A part of the mercury in thermometers may be discharged with waste water when thermometers break by use. Other sources of mercury to the waste are mercury lamps, switches, batteries and dental amalgams. Considering the high amounts of mercury that was used for production of batteries, switches, measuring equipment and other electrotechnical equipment 10 years ago, the amount of mercury ending up in solid waste with these products may be highly underestimated. The amount of mercury in the waste can be estimated by investigating mercury in flue gas and residues from waste incinerators, but such measurements have not been available from Russian incinerators.

Recycling and mercury co-product production

About 30 t refined mercury was produced in 2001 at two main recycling enterprises by recycling of mercury-containing waste products. In general the amount recycled varies very much from year to year and in 2002 only about 10 t mercury was recycled. About 9.8 t of the recycled mercury in 2001 originated from the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) although the actual amount disposed of from the production in 2001 amounted to 4.7 t. The difference reflects the fact that the waste may be stored for some time before treatment. About 24 t of the recycled mercury was spent mercury metal that might originate from different measuring equipment, switches, old mercury stocks at the enterprises, etc. Less than 100 kg of mercury was refined from discarded mercury lamps in 2001 although the mercury content of treated lamps was significantly higher.

About 5 t of mercury in sludge from zinc production was exported for refining abroad.

Table 6.7 Mercury in solid waste products in the Russian Federation, 2001/2002

Notes: see next page

* By-product mercury exported for refinery abroad.

** Indicates the amount disposed of for recycling from the process. The actual amount recycled in 2001 was 9.8 t

*** Mercury metal for recycling with no information on origin; may originate from measuring equipment, switches, stocks, etc.

**** A part of this may be discharged with waste water.

*** Uncertainty categories:
A: Based on actual information from enterprises - uncertainty connected to unaccounted releases
B: Experts estimates - the true value is most probably within a range of ± 50% of the best estimate
C: Expert estimates - the true value may quite well be beyond the a range of ± 50% of the best estimate

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