THE levels Of mercurya heavy metal that can be toxic to both human beings and the environment, are decreased in the atmosphere of almost 70% in the last 20 years: The efforts put in place To limit the emissions of this pollutant they are operate. The confirmation comes from one perennial which also grows to High altitudes on Everest And the study published in the ACS magazine of science and environmental technology of the air, led by the Chinese Tianjin University.
THE data collected on Mount Everest they indicate, however, that the future actions will have to aim limit the emissions that happen soilthe largest natural tank of Mercury, which a due to changes climatic in place it may always accumulate Of more. Human activities release Mercury in the air by burning fossil fuels, setting on waste and extracting minerals.
To combat these sources of pollution, environmental protection measures such as the Minamata agreementa international treaty approved in 2013 and entered in force In the 2017which takes its name from the Japanese city in which for the first time the poisoning due to this metal was diagnosed. To reconstruct the trend of mercury levels in recent decades,
The researchers coordinated by Yindong Tong turned to the small plant Androsace tapeteThat Each year it develops a new layer of leaves external, analogous to the rings of the trunk of the trees, and that reflects the characteristics of the environment at the time of growth. In this way, the authors of the study managed to trace back in time until 1982 And they found that Between 2000 and 2020 atmospheric concentration total of mercury And decreased by 70% about. At the moment, therefore, the soil emits a much greater amount of this element than human activities, 62% against 28%.
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