Act Preventing the Environmental Pollution of Mercury (No. 42).

This Act, consisting of 35 articles divided into ten Chapters, in combination with the Waste Management and Public Cleaning Act (Act No. 137 of 1970) and other acts providing for the control of mercury and mercury compounds, aims to control the emissions of mercury and mercury compounds into the environment, to protect human health and to maintain the integrity of the living environment, by taking measures to regulate primary mercury mining, the manufacture and distribution in commerce of mercury-using products, the use of mercury or mercury compounds in specified manufacturing processes, the extraction of gold using mercury and mercury compounds, the storage of specified mercury and mercury compounds, and the management of mercury-containing recyclable resources, and by taking other measures needed to ensure the reliable and smooth implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, cooperating on an international level in order to prevent mercury from polluting the environment.
The competent minister is to formulate a national implementation plan for preventing environmental pollution of mercury and mercury compounds in order to comprehensively and systematically advance policies for preventing environmental pollution from mercury and mercury compounds as well as ensuring reliable and smooth implementation of the Convention. The plan referred to in the preceding paragraph prescribes: preventing environmental pollution from mercury and mercury compounds; measures to be taken by the national government, local governments, businesses, and the citizens, in order to prevent environmental pollution of mercury and mercury compounds and other material concerns for ensuring the reliable and smooth implementation of the Convention. This Act is divided as follows: General Provisions (Chap. I); National Implementation Plan for Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury and Mercury Compounds (Chap. II); Prohibition of Primary Mercury Mining (Chap. III); Measures Related to the Manufacture and Distribution in Commerce of Mercury-Using Products (Chap. IV); Measures Related to Manufacturing Processes in Which Mercury or Mercury Compounds are Used (Chap. V); Prohibition of Gold Extraction Using Mercury and Mercury Compounds (Chap. VI); Measures Related to the Storage of Mercury and Mercury Compounds (Chap. VII); Measures Related to the Management of Mercury-Containing Recyclable Resources (Chap. VIII); Miscellaneous Provisions (Chap. IX); and Penal Provisions (Chap. X).