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Pennsylvania Zero Mercury Campaign
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Thermostats represent the largest household source of mercury. Comparably priced mercury-free alternatives are readily available. |
Mercury-Free Thermostat Act
Mercury in thermostats represents the largest single source of mercury in any ordinary household product, with one mercury thermostat usually containing between 3-5 grams of the toxin. Comparably priced snap-switch and electronic programmable thermostats that do not contain mercury are readily available.
The Mercury-Free Thermostat Act would prohibit the sale and distribution of mercury thermostats in Pennsylvania. It would also ban the disposal of thermostats without first removing the mercury in them. Under the act, an industry-established collection system would be started to collect existing mercury thermostats. An education program would also be launched to inform the public, businesses, schools and local governments on the proper disposal methods for mercury thermostats. Anyone who sells, distributes or improperly disposes of a mercury thermostat would be fined up to $2,500 for each violation.
The bill is currently under consideration by the House and Senate Committees on Environmental Resources and Energy.
Senate Bill
House Bill
Mercury Thermometer Act
The Mercury Thermometer Act would ban the sale and free distribution of mercury thermometers in Pennsylvania. Violators would be fined $100 per violation.
The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee.
Text of bill
Swordfish can contain among the highest levels of mercury of all fish. |
Clean Air Council Vehicle Mercury Recovery
Clean Air Council is working to increase participation among Pennsylvania scrap yards in the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program.
This initiative offers a bounty for mercury-containing switches in light assemblies and ABS units of cars. As of June 2007, more than 100 facilities in Pennsylvania were participating, and more than 5,300 facilities in 42 states have joined. In 2006, the program recovered 241,911 switches, amounting to 532.2 pounds of mercury. Five auto recyclers and dismantlers have collected more than half of the mercury auto switches that have been recycled over the past three years in Pennsylvania. See the press release from the Council saluting these auto scrapyard heroes here.
Mercury in Dentistry
The Council supports the Use of Mercury in Dentistry Act, Philadelphia Bill 040904, introduced by Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown now before City Council. which would require dentists to install mercury amalgam separators in their wastewater lines. It would also require dentists to distribute brochures explaining the advantages and disadvantages of using mercury in dental procedures. The bill was recently approved by the Committee on Licenses and Inspections and should be taken up by the full City Council in Fall 2007.
See Clean Air Council's Testimony before Philadelphia City Council on the Use of Mercury in Dentistry Act .
Mercury in Fish and Sustainable Fisheries
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has created a valuable new website, as of September 2007, that draws together public health and harvest sustainability information for various saltwater fish species. Find their website here.
Clean Air Council's 2001 Investigation into Mercury in PA
 Click here to access a copy of Clean Air Council's report into Mercury in Pennsylvania's waterways: Pennsylvania's Killer Catch.
Clean Air Council's mercury education and outreach program aims to educate the citizens of Pennsylvania and bring to their attention the threat of mercury pollution. It calls for both national and state governing bodies to address mercury pollution with the integrity it deserves.
Contact: Sean Jacobs, Project Manager, 215.567.4004, ext. 102.
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