Products

Mercury and Product Stewardship

Mercury is a highly toxic element that can exist in gaseous, liquid or solid states. It is highly conductive and exists as a liquid at room temperature. Because of these properties, mercury has been used in many household and commercial products such as electrical switches and relays, thermostats, fluorescent tubes and high intensity discharge lamps, dental amalgam, batteries, measuring instruments (barometers, thermometers, etc.), pharmaceuticals, paint produced before 1992, and laboratory and medical equipment.

How is mercury used? The highly conductive nature of mercury makes it useful in switches, such as the switch in your car trunk. When the trunk is raised to a certain angle, the mercury makes electrical contact and turns on the trunk light. Mercury can also be use in its gaseous state as in fluorescent lighting. Electricity is applied to the electrode at the end of the lamp, which excites the mercury vapor contained in the lamp to produce light.

What is the Problem?

Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT) material that persists in the environment once released. Products that contain mercury are often not labeled and many pounds of mercury are unknowingly disposed into landfills and incinerators. Many products can be made without mercury or with less mercury. There are also mercury-free products available in the market place. Landfills, incinerators and wastewater treatment facilities are not safe disposal options for these products.

Mercury and products that contain mercury are currently regulated under state and federal hazardous waste laws. Some jurisdictions including Seattle, Snohomish County, and Kitsap County (WA) prohibit household and small quantity generator hazardous wastes from regular garbage. In an attempt to keep mercury and other toxic wastes out of the garbage, many communities in Oregon and Washington offer costly household hazardous waste programs. But these programs are only successful if the public uses them but at the same time, the more the public uses them, the more they cost. So government agencies are caught between running expensive, successful programs and having mercury in the waste stream.

Product stewardship solutions address the issue before mercury ends up in the garbage. Product stewardship shares the costs of managing the material between all parties that are involved in the lifecycle of the product including manufacturers, consumers and government.

Large volumes

The Oregon Environmental Council estimates that between 3,600 and 10,600 pounds of mercury are released to air, water and land in Oregon each year. The Washington Department of Ecology estimates that between 2,180 and 2,957 pounds of mercury are released a year and between 1,733-3,356 pounds are disposed of each year. In addition, there are many products still in use that contain mercury. King County households have more than 300,000 mercury fever thermometers that cumulatively contain 660 pounds of mercury.

Toxicity

Mercury is poisonous to humans and other species, it affects the brain, kidneys and liver and can damage the central nervous system, especially during fetal and childhood development. Mercury vaporizes, which means it moves between water, air and soil as a result of natural and human activities. Human exposure occurs most frequently by eating mercury-contaminated fish. There is a lawsuit in California against grocers for selling mercury contaminated fish, without warning their customers. Read more about it in our Mercury Policies & Legislation pages.

The Product Stewardship Solution

Product stewardship is the concept that recognizes that all parties involved in the lifecycle of a product are responsible for minimizing the environmental impacts of that product. The greater the ability an entity has to minimize a product's life-cycle impacts, the greater is its degree of responsibility, and opportunity, for addressing those impacts.

Product stewardship solutions for products that contain mercury share the costs of managing this chemical before it ends up in the waste stream. Some product stewardship solutions include phasing out the use of mercury in products, redesigning products to contain less mercury, requiring manufacturers to disclose to the public that their products contain mercury, labeling products that contain mercury and establishing mercury product take back and retirement programs. Consumers can voice their concerns by requesting mercury-free products from the manufacturer and by making informed purchasing decisions.

Materials Selection and Design

Manufacturers can design products without mercury. Cost effective mercury-free products already exist such as digital thermometers, alcohol (red bulb) thermometers, electronic thermostats, electronic switches, automotive switches and headlights, mechanical switches, medical devices and composite fillings. Learn more about mercury-free alternatives.

Product Take Back

Manufacturers can take back products that contain mercury at the end of their lives. Mercury thermometer exchanges have been conducted with pharmacies, hospitals and clinics in partnership with local governments. There is an organization that helps to recycle thermostats, read more about it on our Business Takeback pages. Also check out the NWPSC activities for information on Takeback programs. Learn more about takeback Policies & Legislation relating to Mercury.

Acknowledgments

The NWPSC efforts in mercury product stewardship are supported by the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Portland Metro, Seattle Public Utilities, King County Department of Natural Resources, Solid Waste Division,Snohomish County Solid Waste Division, Kitsap County Solid Waste Division.

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