National Workshop for the Results of the Mercury Storage and Disposal Project in the Caribbean

After seven (7) short months, the desktop study for the Mercury Storage and Disposal Project, concluded with a National Workshop to relay results obtained to key stakeholders and members of the multi-sectoral National Working Group. This event took place on December 1^st, 2016 at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre, Port of Spain, Trinidad, and was hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Development in collaboration with the Basel Convention Regional Centre for the Caribbean (BCRC-Caribbean).

This project, which sought to enhance capacities and promote the environmentally sound storage and disposal of surplus mercury in three (3) Caribbean countries; Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago used the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Inventory Level 1 Toolkit for Identification and Quantification of Mercury Releases as its primary data capture tool.

Ms. Keima Gardiner Presenting the Overview of the Project

Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh , Head of the Multilateral
 Environmental Agreements Unit
Giving His Opening Remarks

The Workshop culminated with the presentation of the results from the inventory by the BCRC-Caribbean. Based on the study it was revealed that the major sources of mercury, in terms of estimated total releases, in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago are:

• Use and disposal of mercury containing products (309 kg Hg/y);
• Oil and gas production (170 kg Hg/y); and
• Other materials production (cement production) (109 kg Hg/y)¹

A Legislative and Policy Review and Storage and Disposal Options were also additional elements that formed part of the scope of work in the development of the final document. A series of recommendations also accompanied the report, and further suggestions proposed by Workshop participants on the day were incorporated into the final document.

Attendees of the National Workshop for the Results of the Mercury Storage
and Disposal Project in the Caribbean