The First Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) to Review and Assess Measures to Address the Global Issue of Mercury convened for its third day on Wednesday, 14 November at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

During the morning plenary delegates addressed the issue of mercury waste extensively. There was broad agreement on the seriousness of this issue and the need for international cooperation to deal with such waste. Many developing countries stressed that they have dumpsites as opposed to managed landfills and that mercury-containing waste is currently being dumped in these sites. Chair Roberts reminded delegates that mercury in its elemental form cannot be destroyed and therefore the issue of long-term storage is closely related to its waste management. In addressing the issue of long-term storage of mercury-containing waste many developing countries explained that storage options do not exist in their countries and suggested exporting it to countries with appropriate facilities.   

During the late morning and early afternoon, delegates turned their attention to potential response measures to the issue of sites contaminated by mercury. Delegates agreed there are many mercury-contaminated sites, and suggested monitoring potentially contaminated sites as an additional response measure.

During the afternoon plenary delegates discussed the issue of mercury demand in products and available response measures. In the late afternoon, they considered the need to increase knowledge on areas such as inventories, human and environmental exposure, environmental monitoring and socioeconomic process. Delegates agreed to continue this discussion on Thursday morning in plenary.

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