Sri Lanka has launched a US$38 million project aimed at strengthening mercury and waste management, targeting two of the country’s most pressing environmental and public-health challenges, the Ministry of Environment has announced.
A key objective of the programme is to tighten the monitoring of hazardous chemical substances used in agriculture by improving the country’s analytical and regulatory capacity, NewsFirst reported. The project will also accelerate the phase-out of mercury-containing medical equipment across the healthcare sector, in line with Sri Lanka’s obligations under the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
The initiative additionally seeks to introduce safer technologies to control persistent organic pollutants produced by the improper incineration of medical waste — an issue linked to environmental contamination and public-health risks worldwide.
The Ministry of Environment is implementing the project with technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As part of the rollout, state-of-the-art analytical laboratory equipment designed to strengthen the national chemical-management monitoring system was formally handed over at a ceremony held at the ministry on Monday.
Officials say the equipment will bolster the government’s ability to detect and manage dangerous chemicals, reduce mercury exposure in the health sector and improve the safe disposal of hazardous waste across the island.
