Mercury and its compounds are everywhere in our environment. Between 2,700 and
6,000 tons of mercury are released annually from the oceans and the earth’s crust into the atmosphere. Another 2,000 to 3,000 tons are released from human activities,
primarily burning household and the industrial waste and especially from burning fossil
fuels, such as coal.The Asian countries contributed about 54 percent to the global
mercury emission from anthropogenic sources in 2000, followed by Africa (18 percent)
and Europe, including the European part of Russia (11 percent).Among the various
regions Asia has become the largest contributor of anthropogenic atmospheric mercury,
responsible for over half of global emission.