Substance flow analysis of mercury in Malaysia

Abstract

For the appropriate management of mercury, sources of emissions and release, as well as the amounts released, need to be clarified. We developed a mercury emissions inventory for Malaysia by measuring the actual emissions levels in two solid waste incineration facilities (SWIF-a and SWIF-b) and a coal-fired power station, as well as the mercury concentrations in the combustion residues and feedstock. The mercury concentration in the emissions from SWIF-a ranged from 1.1 to 27.6 μg/Nm3, while that from SWIF-b averaged 35.1 μg/Nm3. The estimated mercury concentration in emissions from the coal-fired power station ranged from 5.2 to 39.5 μg/Nm3. We estimated the emissions and release of mercury into various media, and applied a substance flow analysis to link the flows and stocks. The total potential emissions in Malaysia in 2012 were an estimated 7.60–59.09 Mg (7.60–38.09 Mg excluding artisanal and small-scale gold mining [ASGM]). The measurements for the SWIFs and the coal-fired power station were used to refine the emissions inventory for Malaysia. In the future, it will be necessary to create reliable inventories for both atmospheric emissions and release into other media in Malaysia by collecting more reliable measurement data.