Melting Arctic permafrost releasing vast quantities of toxic metal - Mercury poses serious threat to health of millions of ...

Permafrost covers about 25% of the exposed land surface in the Northern Hemisphere, crucial in locking away carbon and toxic metals like mercury.

For example, mercury is a liquid at room temperature. The metals in Group 1, such as lithium, sodium and potassium, are all soft. Many non-metals have low melting and boiling points. When non ...