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NEW!! MERCURY DIOSTAT BAN IS NOW IN EFFECT On January 1, 2008, the ban on the sale and distribution of mercury diostats took effect. Common products that may be affected by this ban include but not limited to, household appliances such as gas ranges, heaters, and ovens. More information on mercury-added products may be found in the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA) - Interstate Mercury Education & Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC), Mercury-Added Products Database (http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc/notification/). Information regarding Mercury Phase Out in Switches and Relays can be found below. If you have specific questions regarding mercury-added products and applying for an exemption, you may contact Ron Ohta at (916) 324-5192 or rohta@dtsc.ca.gov.
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Mercury (Hg)
Mercury is a naturally occurring element. This silver-colored liquid metal can be found in rocks, soil and the ocean. Mercury can be released into the environment through natural processes when volcanoes erupt, rocks erode and soil decomposes. As a liquid metal at room temperature, mercury has been widely used throughout industry. Man-made sources of mercury include abandoned mines, energy production, sewage, industrial processes, mining, smelting, scrap metal processing and incineration or land disposal of mercury products or waste.
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Why Regulate Mercury?
The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) regulates the disposal of waste mercury because mercury is toxic to people and to the environment. - Mercury is Toxic to People: Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that affects every aspect of brain and nerve function. It can cause tremors, memory loss, mental impairment and many other complications in the nervous system. Mercury is especially dangerous to the developing fetus as it impairs brain development, resulting in lowered intelligence and other brain deficits.
- Mercury is Toxic to the Environment: Bacteria from river and estuary bottom sediments convert mercury into its highly toxic form through a process called “methylation.” This methylated mercury accumulates in aquatic organisms, making the fish from those bodies of water dangerous to eat.
Numerous bodies of water in California are the subject of fish consumption advisories. These range from limiting the intake of some fish to one serving every few weeks, to avoiding the consumption of any fish from specific locations. For more information on California’s fish consumption advisories, go to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Web site. For more information about the health effects of mercury, go to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry mercury page.
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Mercury Report
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Types of Mercury Products
Due to the unique properties of mercury, this liquid metal has been widely used in many common consumer products. | Measurement Devices | - Thermometers
- Thermostats
- Manometers
- Barometers
| | Electrical Devices | - Fluorescent Light Bulbs
- Batteries
- Switches
- Consumer Electronics (For more information, go to the Electronic Waste Web page.)
| | Novelty Items | - Mercury Batteries: singing greeting cards, flashing jewelry, buttons or stickers
- Liquid Mercury: quicksilver mazes and amulets from Mexico
- Mercury Switches: some flashing athletic shoes contain mercury switches
| | Other Mercury-Containing Consumer Products | - Dental Amalgam
- Pesticides
- Fungicide in Some Paints
- Topical Antiseptics
- Counterweights and Dampers
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Disposal of Mercury Products
Once these products are no longer used and become waste, many of these items can be managed with reduced hazardous waste handling requirements under the “Universal Waste Rule.” For more information, go to our Universal Waste Web page. For mercury-containing products found in the home, local governments in California operate an extensive system of household hazardous waste collection programs. Many of these programs also accept hazardous waste from small businesses.
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Managing Mercury Switches from Vehicles and Appliances Under SB 633
The California Mercury Reduction Act (SB 633, chapter 656, stats. of 2001) prohibits the sale in n California of vehicles manufactured on or after January 1, 2005 that contain mercury light switches. SB 633 also requires DTSC to take steps to encourage the removal of mercury light switches from end-of-life vehicles and to assess compliance with the requirement for the removal of all mercury switches from all end-of-life major appliances. | DTSC’s obligations under the bill are as follows: | - To “coordinate with local agencies to provide technical assistance to businesses engaged in the dismantling or crushing of motor vehicles concerning the safe removal and proper disposal of mercury-containing light switches from motor vehicles, including information about vehicle makes and models that contain mercury light switches and entities that provide mercury recycling switches;
- To “coordinate and encourage entities, such as associations representing motor vehicle repair shops, to offer to the public the replacement and recycling of mercury-containing vehicle light switches”;
- To “make available to the public information concerning services to replace and recycle mercury-containing motor vehicle light switches”; and
- To report to the Legislature by January 1, 2004, on “the success of efforts to remove mercury-containing vehicle light switches from vehicles” and on “compliance with the requirement to remove mercury-containing appliance switches …”
- Fact Sheet: California's Mercury Reduction Act of 2001 (SB 633)
- SB 633 Text
| The information below was developed as part of DTSC’s effort to encourage and assist with the removal of mercury light switches from vehicles and mercury switches from major appliances, as required by SB 633. These documents provide background on the regulatory requirements that govern management of mercury switches, as well as practical information on how to remove them from vehicles and appliances. DTSC is pursuing a number of initiatives to encourage the replacement, reuse and recycling of mercury in products so that this highly toxic chemical does not find its way into the environment.
Best Management Practices for Waste Mercury Switches |
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Appliance Recyclers
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Mercury Phase Out in Switches and Relays
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Fluorescent Lamps
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Mercury in Healthcare Facilities
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Toxics in Packaging
The new law Assembly Bill (AB) 455 requires that using certain heavy metals in packages and packaging components be regulated in California beginning January 1, 2006. This fact sheet provides information about the new law to members of industry, regulators, public interest groups and the general public.
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National Agreement
Some representatives from the vehicle manufacturers, steelmakers, vehicle dismantlers, vehicle shredders, environmental community, states and the U.S. EPA have reached a tentative agreement on National Auto Mercury Switch Recovery Program.
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General Information
- For information about the household hazardous waste program in your community:
- Call your local environmental health or public works department
- Call 1-800-CLEANUP (1-800-253-2687)
- Call DTSC's Public and Business Liaisons at 1-800-72TOXIC (1-800-728-6942)
- DTSC Universal Waste Page
- DTSC Managing Hazardous Waste Page
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