ABSTRACT
Mercury is one of the naturally occurring elements found in the environment. Mercury pollution is a serious global environmental problem attracting the attention of many stakeholders around the world. The environmental persistence of mercury permits long range transport, and often, it partitions to areas with very less or no human activities, and hence fast becoming a major health concern. Mercury is found widely distributed throughout the world. Common natural processes leading to deposition in the environment include volcanoes and forest fires as well as geothermal activities. Mercury is increasingly getting concentrated in sediments and soil becoming tenfold, largely owing to the continued burning of fossil based fuels and air transport. The environmental persistence of mercury permits long range transport. The increase in mercury contamination, especially from wastewaters in addition to other sources necessitated the exploration of many technologies to reduce this contamination level. Mercury can be converted into chemical form by solidification or stabilization proc.
