LETTER OF INVITATION

In response to the increasing intensity of research dedicated to mercury on a global scale, the need was recognized to provide a forum for presentation of results, discussions, and the exchange of innovative ideas and to communicate with policy makers, legislators, experts from industry and public representatives in order to promote the direct use of scientific and technical data in the field of environmental protection and control. The international conference series on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP) was therefore initiated in 1990. Growing interest in mercury issues is evidenced in the increasing number of participants worldwide: 200 in Gavle, Sweden in 1990; 300 in Monterey, California, USA in 1992; 400 in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada in 1994; over 400 in Hamburg, Germany in 1996; over 450 in Rio de Janeiro in 1999 and over 600 in Minamata in 2001. The global nature of mercury issues is also shown by increasing international participation, from a few nations at Gavle, mostly from the Northern hemisphere, to more than 64 in Minamata in 2001, where almost half of the participants were from developing countries. One of the reasons is related to a revival of gold exploration in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, for which mercury is used to extract gold; this caused an increase in mercury research because of the need to set environmental quality criteria in these areas.

The programme of the 7th ICMGP which will be organized in Ljubljana, Slovenia, will cover all aspects of mercury studies. Due to a number of important events, such as the adoption of new legislation at European level, as well as the recent decision by governments at the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that national, regional and global actions, both immediate and long-term, to reduce or eliminate releases of mercury that impact human health and the environment should be initiated as soon as possible, the focus of the conference will also include issues such as risk assessment, socioeconomic aspects, prevention and control measures and management policies and legislation.

Mercury research in Slovenia, initiated by the Joæef Stefan Institute, started in the early 60’s as a result of environmental and health concerns related to the operation of the second largest Hg mine in the world at Idrija, which was working continually for 500 years until about 20 years ago. Initially, the main concern was to understand and improve the health status of the miners, and development of safety practices. It was soon recognized that mercury impacts on the 3 environment should also be considered with great care. In the following years work has expanded to other areas of research, which is well documented and acknowledged in the scientific literature.

Although Slovenia is a small country with just under 2 million inhabitants, it plays an important role as a bridge between Eastern and Western Europe. The year 2004 will be a year of celebration as it is planned that Slovenia will finally join the European Union. For this reason we are particularly pleased to host the 7th International Conference on “Mercury as a Global Pollutant”. The conference will take place in Ljubljana, “.. a city that seems to have been built at the junction of different worlds, from which it adopted some of their positive features, such as the charm of the Mediterranean and reliability of continental Europe, the enigmatic spirit of the East and the stated openness to the West, while still bearing a strong mark of originality”. These characteristics are a perfect match of the conference to come!

You are cordially invited to Ljubljana,

Dr. Milena Horvat Chair