EU-Umweltminister stimmen für Einstellung von Quecksilberexporten[en] 

EU environment ministers have supported a Commission proposal to gradually phase out all exports of mercury in an effort to eliminate the product's harmful effects on human health and the environment.

As a result, the use of mercury in products such as thermometers, dental amalgams and batteries will eventually be banned, leading to a major overhaul for Europe's chlor-alkali sector, the world's number one supplier with almost a third of global production. 

Restrictions on the use of mercury will apply "from cradle to grave", including handling of surpluses and waste. Spain, the only EU country where mercury is mined, will be hardest hit by the ban.

European chlor-alkali producers have already committed to either close or convert their mercury plants by 2020 at the latest, saying the timeframe was needed to absorb the investments needed for conversion.