Bipartisan legislation to monitor mercury announced. U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act, bipartisan legislation that would establish a national mercury monitoring network to protect human health and the environment. “The U.N.’s global mercury treaty, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, aims to protect human and environmental health from emissions and releases of mercury that stem from human activities such as burning coal or small-scale artisanal gold mining. Long-term mercury monitoring—locally, regionally, and globally—is critical to measuring the treaty’s effectiveness over time,” said David C. Evers, Ph.D., executive director of Maine-based Biodiversity Research Institute and leading mercury scientist. “The legislation introduced by Senators Collins and Carper allows the U.S. to take a leadership role in generating a comprehensive long-term mercury-monitoring program that will also benefit the entire global community.” Read more here.