The European Union (EU) on Thursday unveiled a plan to ban all exports of mercury from July 1, 2011, which is expected to significantly reduce global supply of the highly toxic substance.

According to the proposal, from July 1, 2011, mercury that is no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry or produced in certain other industrial operations has to be put into safe storage, the EU's executive European Commission (EC) said Thursday.

The proposal has to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states to become EU legislation.

High doses of mercury can be fatal to humans, and even relatively low doses can seriously affect the nervous system and have been linked with possible harmful effects on the cardiovascular, immune and reproductive systems.

Mercury persists in the environment, where it can change into methylmercury, its most toxic form.

Global demand for mercury is around 3,400 tons a year. The heavy metal is mainly used in small-scale gold mining, the chlor- alkali industry and production of vinyl-chloride monomer, the basis of PVC plastic.

A main global supplier of mercury is the Spanish state-owned firm MAYASA, which supplies around 1,000 tons a year.

The EC said it has consulted MAYASA, the Spanish government and the European chlor-alkali industry, and they have agreed on the ban.

Cefic, the European chemical industry organization, has also given a voluntary commitment to ensure safe storage of mercury from the chlor-alkali industry from July 1, 2011, the EC said.

Source: Xinhua