Imphal, July 25, 2012: The Rural Health Organisation (RHO), Naoremthong organised a State level meeting for the stackholders from health care sectors of the State on the topic, Mercury free initiative in health care sectors in Manipur' at Hotel Tampha today.

New Delhi, June 7, 2012: Mercury in the mouth of the Indian population (used in filling cavities) at present can be approximated at 396 tonnes, reveals a new report, “Mercury in Our Mouth”, released by non-government organisation Toxics Link.

Ahmedabad, May 17, 2012: These tiny creatures love heavy metal. It’s not music we mean, but toxic metals like cadmium, mercury, chromium, lead and zinc: stuff that not only cause cancer but also trigger impairments in humans after they seep into our soil and groundwater.

New Delhi, May 10, 2012: The rising mercury is set to make you break into a not-so-cold sweat in more ways than one. If a government study is to be believed, the temperature in India is expected to increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius to 2 degrees Celsius by 2030 – causing the production of fruits and vegetables to plummet.

New Delhi, January 31, 2012: Environmentalists say mercury in tube-lights and other fluorescent bulbs produced in India is exceeding the safe limit and there is no regulatory body to check the same.

A study by Toxics Link titled "Toxics In That Glow: Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in India" reveals the potential threat associated with these bulbs. The study, which analyzed twenty-two samples of CFLs of well-known brands sold in India for their mercury content, exposes somewhat disturbing trend in mercury dosing practice by the manufacturers.

The European Commission is hosting an international conference on managing international supply and demand of mercury. Policy makers, industry representatives, non-government organisations and scientists will participate in this event. The conference will bring together experts and stakeholders from around the world to discuss the way forward to reduce the demand and supply of mercury.

Even as the world is moving towards eliminating one of the most toxic heavy metals in everyday use, mercury, India unashamedly continues to freely trade and use this potent poison. Being the second largest consumer in the world, after China, we have been annually importing between 170-500 mt of elemental mercury for uses like chlor alkali production, thermometers, blood pressure instruments, batteries, dental amalgam, lighting, switches, paints, etc. Our coal-based power plants also put out at least 50-100 mt of mercury into the air each year.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element. It is a common chemical in school laboratories. Elemental mercury is used to demonstrate the concept of density and various mercuric salts are used in chemical experiments. Many of us remember seeing the mercury beads roll across the desk of the science laboratory out of a broken thermometer and even playing with it.

Following Toxics Link's report "Lurking menace: Mercury in the healthcare sector" (released in June 2004), some big hospitals in Delhi decided to get rid of the toxic mercury.