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Abstract: An inventory of mercury emissions originating from waste incineration in China, including municipal solid waste, rural household waste and agricultural waste, was calculated for the period of 2004–2010. During this period, mercury emissions from waste incineration increased at an average annual rate of 3.9%, and reached 16.6 t y−1 by the end of 2010. From 2004 to 2010, the mercury emissions from rural household waste incineration accounted for 46.6% of the total waste emissions, followed by agricultural waste (30.7%) and municipal solid waste (22.7%). However, the growth rate of mercury emissions was largest for municipal solid waste incineration, with an annual rate of 37.3%, while the emissions from rural household waste showed a negative growth rate (−5.8%). The mercury emissions from waste combustion is projected to be 18.6 t y−1 by 2015, with the contribution of municipal solid waste, rural household waste and agricultural waste being 46.4%, 27.1% and 26.5%, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Due to the high costs and deployment difficulties associated with automated sampling technologies, few investigations have been published on atmospheric mercury in typical urban and rural areas in developing countries. In this study, a novel passive sampler for gaseous elemental mercury was developed and applied to characterize trends in atmospheric mercury levels across an urban–rural transect. The sampling transect originated in the city of Beijing and extended ∼150km southward into a rural region. Field deployment was conducted during September–October (autumn) and November–December (winter) in 2010. The mercury concentrations in air obtained using the passive sampler were consistent with synchronous automated measurements performed during the field deployment. The results demonstrated that atmospheric mercury concentrations increased along the urban–rural gradient in the following order in both of the two periods: urban>suburban>rural (populated)>rural (farmland). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]