Mercury in Your Environment

Learn about Mercury

Learn about mercury

Basic information
How people are exposed to mercury
Health effects
ToxFAQs on mercury and metallic mercury (ATSDR.gov)
Mercurio en español

What EPA and
Others are Doing

What EPA and other organizations are doing about mercury pollution

What You Can Do

Steps you can take to reduce mercury in the environment and minimize your exposures to mercury

Steps you can take to:
- Reduce mercury in the environment
- Minimize your exposures to mercury
If you have a mercury spill:
If you have containers of mercury in your home

Products that
Contain Mercury

Products that contain mercury

Don't Mess with Mercury

View a larger version of this video on EPA's YouTube channel, and learn about the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)'s mercury spill prevention initiative for schools.

Reducing Mercury in Gold Shops with a Mercury Capture System

Small-scale gold refining and processing is a major cause of air pollution from mercury. EPA helped design a low-cost mercury capture system that is simple to build and install, using locally available materials, and that reduces mercury emissions by at least 80%. View a larger version of this video and read more information about reducing mercury pollution from artisanal and small-scale gold mining.