PERSONS may be smuggling mercury across the borders, and as such, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between several agencies is likely to dent this practice as well as place strict measures in place for importation of the chemical.

Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, told reporters at a press conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre on Thursday that the signing of the agreement will take place next Friday, on August 30, 2019.

The signatories will be the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).
This move, Trotman said, will see importers requiring the approval of the three agencies before being issued with an importation licence, contending that it will affect the use of mercury in the mining industry “only in a positive way”.

Trotman said last year, the authorities saw a request from an importer for the importation of 30,000 kilograms of mercury from Mexico, adding that was only one importer while he noted that there are multiple importers.

He said the there seem to be reasons to believe that some of the substance is being moved across the country’s borders.
He said the MoU will see monitoring of the stocks at hand and it will also ensure that there is a limited amount in the country at all times. He said issues such as disposal, abuse of the use of the chemical will be tracked.

“We have not made it easy,” Trotman said regarding the importation of the chemical.
The MoU will see the importer requiring permission from one agency before being able to approach another to carry out their uses of the chemical.

According to the GGMC’s website, as of August 1, 2019, importers, retailers, traders and distributers of mercury will require an Environmental Authorisation from the EPA to carry out their future uses of the chemical.

This is in keeping with the Environmental Protection Act Cap. 20:05, Laws of Guyana, the notice said.
As regards consequences, the GGMC said that failure to obtain an Environmental Authorisation from the EPA will deem them ineligible to acquire a licence from the PTCCB to import, retail or distribute mercury.

The process stretches to the GGMC in which the written consent of the commissioner of that body “is at all times required before any shipment of mercury is imported into Guyana for mining purposes”.

Guyana signed and ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury in October, 2013 and September, 2014, respectively.

The convention is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and its compounds. It came into force August 2017.