Landmark New National Program to Collect Mercury Switches from Automobiles

A landmark agreement was announced today that will greatly reduce a major source of mercury from the environment by creating a new, industry-funded, national program for recovering mercury switches from vehicles before they are dismantled and melted for recycling. The agreement was reached after years of research, advocacy and coalition-building by Environmental Defense and Ecology Center, working closely with the vehicle dismantlers, vehicle shredders, steelmakers, states, the auto industry and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
Over the past 30 years, domestic automakers have installed over 200 million mercury switches - - containing nearly 250 tons of mercury - - in vehicles in convenience lighting and braking applications. When these switches are not removed prior to recycling, the mercury is released to the environment during the steel melting process, threatening public health. Auto switches from pre-2003 automobiles currently represent the largest manufacturing source of mercury air emissions, surpassed only by two combustion sources: coal-fired power plants and industrial boilers.
 
“Recovering mercury switches from old cars will remove up to 75 tons of highly toxic mercury from our air and water. Since mercury damages the human nervous system, our applause to all the parties for deciding to work this out,” said Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense.  “Look what can be done where there is the will to achieve real progress, and a cooperative approach. We’re eager to work together to tackle other problems as well.”
 
Ecology Center and Environmental Defense first called national attention to this issue more than five years ago with two groundbreaking reports that detailed the scope of the problem and proposed solutions. (See http://www.cleancarcampaign.org/reports.shtml). Environmental Defense and Ecology Center then formed a partnership with the steel and auto recycling industries to advance a common approach – advocating automaker responsibility – to address this problem.
 
Since then, ten states have passed laws based on this approach: Maine, New Jersey, Arkansas, Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, Illinois, Iowa, ,and Massachusetts. The national program will complement these and other state laws inspired by this effort.
 
“This program reflects more than a decade of work, primarily at the state level, to develop mercury switch recovery programs that are effective and fair—i.e. funded primarily by the automakers that put mercury in their vehicles.” said Mike Garfield, Director of the Michigan-based Ecology Center.  “The agreement being signed today extends those principles nationwide, and gives all the parties a role in ensuring the program’s success.   We trust that future design decisions by automakers, as well as other manufacturers, will take seriously the potential health impacts of their products.” 
 
Under the new national program, auto dismantlers and others who remove switches will submit them to the program for proper management. Automakers will take responsibility for collection, transportation, and recycling of the switches. Steelmakers and those who produce steel scrap will promote participation in the program and also ensure mercury switches are removed. Additionally, automakers and steelmakers will create a fund to provide financial incentives to those removing switches.
 
Environmental Defense and Ecology Center work on this issue nationally through the Partnership for Mercury-Free Vehicles. Other members of the Partnership include the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries, the Steel Recycling Institute and the Automotive Recyclers Association.
 

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