The world's first legally binding treaty on mercury was reached
after a week of thorny talks and ends four years of heated
discussions on how to cut global emission levels of the toxic
heavy metal, which poses risks to human health and the
environment. "This was a herculean task .. but we have
succeeded," Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and head
of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told reporters in
Geneva. The treaty has been named the Minamata Convention on
Mercury, in honour of the Japanese town where inhabitants for
decades have suffered the consequences of serious mercury
contamination. It will be signed in Minamata in October and will
take effect once ratified by 50 countries -- something
organisers expect will take three to four years. Mercury, also
known as quicksilver, is found in products ranging from
electrical switches, thermometers and light-bulbs, to amalgam
dental fillings and even facial creams. Large amounts of the
heavy metal are released from small-scale gold mining, coal-
burni