CCC/195 ISBN 978-92-9029-515-0

April 2012

copyright © IEA Clean Coal Centre

Abstract

Mercury is an element of growing global concern. The United Nations Environment Programme plans

to finalise and ratify a new global legally-binding convention on mercury by 2013. Canada already has

legislation on mercury emissions from coal-fired utilities and the USA has recently released the new

Mercury and Air Toxics Standard. Although other countries may not have mercury-specific legislation

as such, many have legislation which results in significant co-benefit mercury reduction due to the

installation of effective flue-gas cleaning technologies.

This report reviews the current situation and trends in mercury emission legislation and, where

possible, discusses the actions that will be taken under proposed or impending standards globally and

regionally. The report also reviews the methods currently applied for mercury control and for mercury

emission measurement with emphasis on the methodologies most appropriate for compliance.

Examples of the methods of mercury control currently deployed in the USA, Canada and elsewhere

are included.