Mercury Regulation
The Control of Mercury (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1st January 2021.
This instrument amends Regulation EU 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council on mercury, and repeals Regulation (EC) No 1102/2008 to enable its continued operability as retained EU law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, following the end of the transition period. This instrument also applies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The instrument will ensure the UK meets its obligations under the Windsor Framework through the introduction of new procedural requirements for the transport of elemental or commodity mercury from NI to GB and from GB to NI and the introduction of a prohibition on the transport of specified products containing mercury between GB and NI. Certain types of Mercury Added Products (MAPs) are already prohibited from being imported, exported and manufactured.
The new procedures which have been introduced for movements of three types of mercury goods are:
- The movement of mercury-added products within the UK will be prohibited.
- The movement of elemental or commodity mercury from NI to GB and from GB to NI will require written consent. This written consent will be managed through the provision of a list of GB approved uses of mercury.
- Mercury waste may only be moved from NI to GB for the purposes of disposal.
- Mercury waste may only be moved from GB to NI for the purposes of disposal.
Mercury has been highly controlled over the past 15 years and many uses of mercury have diminished considerably.
In line with Article 3 of the Minamata Convention on Mercury (‘the Minamata Convention’), Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/852 (the EU Mercury Regulation) provides that mercury and certain mixtures of mercury may be imported, for purposes other than disposal as waste, only if the importing Member State has granted written consent to the import.
Where the exporting country is not a party to the Minamata Convention, consent may only be granted if the exporting country has also provided certification that the mercury is not from primary mercury mining using the NIEA mercury exporter form (based on Annex 2).
As the EU Mercury Regulation is directly enforced in Northern Ireland by virtue of the Windsor Framework, before the movement can proceed, the importer must complete a form and send to the NIEA (an Executive Agency of DAERA) at NIEAChemicals@daera-ni.gov.uk using the NIEA mercury importer form (based on Annex 1).
The movement may only proceed once the importer has obtained written consent from NIEA.
A list of current uses of mercury in products and manufacturing processes can be found at: EU Inventory.
Changes to Mercury Regulations in Northern Ireland
On 10th July 2024, the EU adopted Regulation 2024/1849, amending the EU regulation EU 2017/852 on mercury. As a result of being listed in Annex 2 of the Windsor Framework, this EU regulation continues to apply in Northern Ireland.
On 19th July 2024, the EU published Commission Notice 2024/4675, setting out specific arrangements for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Officials along with the UK Government are working to review The Control of Mercury (Enforcement) Regulations 2017 (COMER) to ensure conditions set in the EU derogation are implemented.
For further information please see the page on Changes to Mercury Regulations in Northern Ireland.
Please check the UK Government web-site regularly for any updates.
Please email queries to chemicals@daera-ni.gov.uk or see the contacts page for the Chemicals and Industrial Pollution Policy (CIPP) Branch.