Environmental studies in soils affected by mercury in Mongolia

An international consortium including Emgrisa, MAYASA and the Greek company POLYECO has been awarded the project: “Provision of Remedial Solutions for the Boroo Mercury Contaminated Site and Recovery of Mercury”. This project is funded by UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Agency) in partnership with the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

This project is part of the Plan of Mercury promoted by UNIDO, with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aimed at facilitating the ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

The project lasts 18 months (from July 2015 to December 2016), which will monitor the quality of both surface water and groundwater, as well as different pilot tests of various techniques for the recovery of soils affected by mercury contamination, including phytoremediation, mercury fixation by zero-valent iron nanoparticles or chemical stabilisation with local materials. Training courses will also be provided for the work of the Mongolian administration related to environmental and environmental health issues.

With this new project Emgrisa increases its international experience, having developed projects in Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Kuwait.