Abstract

Mercury is a global problem that can travel thousands of miles in the atmosphere before it deposits back to the earth. Natural sources of mercury such as volcanic eruptions and emissions from the ocean are estimated to contribute about a third of current worldwide mercury air emissions. Anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions account for the remaining two-thirds. U.S. anthropogenic mercury emissions are estimated to account for roughly three percent of the global total, and emissions from the U.S. power sector are estimated to account for about one percent of total global emissions. ...