A/HRC/15/22 39. Mercury has traditionally been used to manufacture several products, including laboratory and medical instruments (e.g. clinical thermometers and barometers), electrical applications (e.g. switches and fluorescent lamps), batteries and dental amalgam. Due to its adverse effects on human health and the environment, many industrial and commercial uses of mercury are now banned, or severely restricted, in many developed countries. Nevertheless, mercury continues to be used in many developing countries. In particular, mercury is extensively used by small-scale or artisanal miners to extract gold from certain types of ores, as the mandate holder verified during his visit to Tanzania (A/HRC/9/22/Add.2). 40. Mercury poses significant threats to the enjoyment of the right to health. It can have several adverse effects on the central nervous system in adults, increase risk of cardiovascular disease, and cause kidney problems, miscarriages, respiratory failure, and even death. There is no known safe level of exposure, and effects can be seen even at very low levels. Mercury and its compounds cause severe irreversible damage to the brain and nervous system of foetuses and infants. The major source of human exposure is ingestion of contaminated fish and seafood. People are also exposed through inhalation of mercury vapour, in particular as a result of their work or for living close to a facility/industry that releases mercury. 41. At its twenty-fifth session, held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 16 to 20 February 2009, the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed to develop a legally-binding instrument on mercury, and requested UNEP to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee with the mandate to prepare the instrument.26 The Committee held its first session from 7 to 11 June 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden, with the goal of completing its work by the twenty-seventh session of the Governing Council in 2013. 42. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision of the UNEP Governing Council. The new instrument should aim at phasing out and eventually eliminating the use of mercury in products, reducing atmospheric mercury emissions from human sources and ensuring that mercury-containing waste is disposed of in an environmentally sound way, in accordance with the Basel Convention. It should also address the remediation of existing contaminated sites affecting public and environmental health, and contain specific provisions to raise awareness among affected individuals and communities of the risks associated with mercury exposure and the measures to adopt in order to minimize such risks. Lead in paint 43. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that was used for many years in products found in and around our homes, including gasoline additives, batteries and plumbing materials. Lead poisoning is known to cause decreases in intelligence quotient levels, retarded physical development, behavioural disorders, reduced attention spans and learning disabilities in children, even at extremely low levels of exposure. In adults, lead is linked to increased blood pressure, hypertension and higher risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as to reproductive problems, anaemia and reduced renal functions. Women exposed to lead during pregnancy report higher rates of miscarriages, stillbirths and preterm deliveries. 44. The concern about the adverse effects of lead on children’s intellectual abilities and behaviour has brought about widespread reduction in its use. In particular, global international efforts to phase out leaded gasoline resulted in the elimination of lead from 26 GE.10-14907 See Decision 25/5, in A/64/25. 13