Section II – Mercury Contributors:
5 Summary of Natural and Anthropogenic Mercury Sources in New Zealand
Table II-11 and Figure II-9 show the estimated breakdown of natural and anthropogenic sources of mercury in New Zealand. The results have found that there is a 52:48 split, with a slightly greater proportion of emissions being generated from natural sources.
| Natural Sources | kg/yr | % of Natural | % of Total Emissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volcanoes | 800 | 54 | 28 |
| Volatilisation of Mercury from Soils | 500 | 33 | 17 |
| Geothermal Areas | 190 | 13 | 7 |
| Total | 1,500 | 100 | 52 |
| Anthropogenic Sources | kg/yr | % of Anthropogenic | % of Total Emissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction and use of fuels/energy sources | 800 | 54.5 | 26 |
| Primary (virgin) metal production | 30 | 1.9 | 1.0 |
| Production of other minerals and materials with mercury impurities | 14 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Intentional use of mercury in industrial processes | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Consumer products with intentional use of mercury | 260 | 18.5 | 8.9 |
| Other intentional products/process uses | 30 | 2.3 | 1.1 |
| Production of recycled metals ("secondary" metal production) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Waste incineration | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Waste deposition/landfilling and waste water treatment | 180 | 13 | 6 |
| Crematoria and cemeteries | 120 | 8.7 | 4.2 |
| Identification of potential hot-spots | Not quantifiable | Not quantifiable | Not quantifiable |
| Total | 1,400 | 100 | 48 |
| Total Natural and Anthropogenic Sources | 2,900 | ||
Note: Emission quantities have been rounded to two significant figures.
Figure II-9 : Natural versus anthropogenic sources of mercury in New Zealand
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Shown as a pie-chart of kilograms of mercury per year. Pie chart includes: volcanoes – 28%; extraction and use of fuels/energy sources – 26%; volatilisation of mercury from soils – 17%; consumer products with intentional use of mercury – 9%; geothermal areas – 7%; waste deposition/landfilling and waste water treatment – 6%; crematoria and cemeteries – 4%; other intentional products/process uses – 1%; primary (virgin) metal production – 1%; production of other minerals and materials with mercury impurities – 1%; production of recycled metals (“secondary metal production”) – 0%; waste incineration – 0%; intentional use of mercury in industrial processes – 0%; identification of potential hot-spots – non-quantifiable.
Figure II-10: Summary of natural versus anthropogenic mercury emission sources
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Illustrated as a pie-chart, includes: anthropogenic – 48%; natural – 52%; and historical (non quantifiable) – 0%.
