title: Mercury Flows in China and Global Drivers.
abstract: Mercury (Hg) pollution control has become an urgent need at global and national scales. This study, for the first time, comprehensively examines Hg flows in Mainland China and uncovers domestic and external causal drivers of China's Hg emissions/releases. Results show that China's Hg input reaches 2643 t in 2010. China discharges 1368 t of Hg to the environment (to air, 633 t; water, 84 t; and land, 651 t). Embedded Hg transfers across production sectors via waste/byproduct flows reduce Hg releases to land, but lead to secondary Hg emissions to air. Such revelations of embedded Hg transfers adjusts China's comprehensive Hg control that would otherwise only tackle primary emitters. Domestic consumption causes 67% of China's Hg emissions/releases, and external consumption induces the remaining 33%. Besides traditional production-side Hg control measures, demand-side measures and international joint efforts are required to effectively combat Hg pollution. Uncovering embedded and embodied Hg flows within the global economy can assist a paradigm shift necessary to make real progress in global Hg control and the implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Mulin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Qingru
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.|State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shuxiao
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3381-4767
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1041, United States.
authors.forename: Sai
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6306-5800
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Fengyang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: ISA, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney , Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenzen
authors.affiliation: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Yafei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University , Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Lixiao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Zhongtian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) , Oslo 0349, Norway.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) , Oslo 0349, Norway.
authors.forename: Thorjorn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Larssen
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1041, United States.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2125, United States.|Sustainable Development and New-Type Urbanization Think Tank, Tongji University , Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, China.|State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex , Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jiming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hao
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D008628:Mercury
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury