Uruguay Set to Build Treatment Plant to Process, Dispose of Toxic Mercury Waste

摘要

Uruguay will build a mercury-waste treatment plant that should be operational in two years and be capable of processing toxic mercury from thermometers, lighting lamps and other mercury-containing devices, the government said. Construction of the plan will likely be funded by some sort of levy on mercury imports, whose outline is yet to be defined, the presidential office said on its website July 23. The facility will be located in the Municipality of Pando, in the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital. It will have a seven-year lifespan and is expected to be managed by a small not-for-profit organization, the government said. The plant will require mercury-distillation equipment as well as storage facilities and mechanisms for the final disposal of the metal retrieved from consumer products and from medical, commercial and industrial devices, the ministry said.