“Anthropogenic mercury emissions are bad for human health and for the environment,” said Kakuko Nagatani-Yoshida, UNEP’s Regional Coordinator for Chemicals, Waste and Air Quality in Asia and the Pacific. “In Myanmar, we can make a big difference by improving capacity for mercury monitoring and detection. This contribution from CASIO will help greatly this regard.”
The EMP-3 Portable Mercury Survey Meter is a compact, lightweight and reliable portable mercury analyzer, which normally retails for around US$11,000. Environmental monitoring teams deployed by MONREC will use the new machine to detect mercury in their field surveys. “The mercury survey meter will help us not only for mercury-contaminated site assessments in Myanmar but also for environmental quality monitoring activities of Environmental Conservation Department,” said Hla Maung Thein, Director General of MONREC’s Environmental Conservation Department
A 2015 study in Myanmar found that miners had more than twice the amount of mercury in their body compared to non-miners. For a sector so widely afflicted, the new monitoring capacity will be a welcome safeguard for the health of tens of thousands.
