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Home / Washington Business - May/June 2004 / AWB Weighs In to Provide a Common-Sense Approach to Dealing With Mercury Issues |
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AWB Weighs In to Provide a Common-Sense Approach to Dealing With Mercury Issues |
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Written On: May/June 2004 |
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Written By: by Paul Schlienz |
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Mercury has been used in a variety of products for many years. Because of its superior performance characteristics, wide availability and low cost, it has been the element of choice in tennis shoes, thermometers, automobiles, computers and other items.
Mercury is also toxic. Birth defects, blindness and neurological damage have all resulted from exposure to high levels of mercury.
“According to EPA, Mercury is a persistent bioaccumulative toxin,” AWB’s Grant Nelson said. “Meaning it accumulates and doesn’t break down very readily in the environment.”
In 2003, the state Legislature passed HB 1002, aimed at reducing mercury in products sold in Washington. With mercury targeted for a phase-out, what are the alternatives?
“Technology has allowed manufacturers to produce products with alternatives to mercury and far less quantities of mercury,” stated Nelson, who worked to ensure HB 1002 would be fair to Washington’s business community. “Fluorescent lights require mercury in order to operate, but the amount of mercury needed is so much less today that you can get brighter light and use less mercury than in previous bulbs.
“For fever thermometers, most people are replacing theirs with digital ones. And tennis shoes used to use mercury to make the light go on in the heels, but they’re now using a contact electric switch.”
The automobile industry has also made strides to reduce mercury.
“Mercury was used to trigger convenience switches like those that open up a hood or trunk,” said Nancee Wildermuth of the National Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “Manufacturers found a replacement for mercury in convenience switches through a ball bearing. Mercury has also been used in some anti-lock break systems and is still used as a safety factor in cars.”
Mercury is being replaced with digital components in many products, including pilot light sensors and gauges, such as manometers, barometers, and blood pressure devices. Electronic devices and a variety of liquids are replacing mercury in toys.
Do the alternatives perform as well as mercury? The results are mixed.
“Digital thermometers are less reliable and sensitive to temperature,” stated Charlie Brown, who represents electronics manufacturers. “They can be more expensive, and the user has to program them properly to achieve efficiency.”
Alternatives to mercury dental fillings have advantages and disadvantages. Ceramic restorations perform excellently and are more attractive than mercury fillings. In addition, ceramic fillings last longer than composites, another non-mercury alternative. Ceramic restorations are, however, more expensive than mercury fillings.
Although Washington’s mercury reduction efforts focus on products with mercury components and their proper disposal, much of the state’s mercury occurs naturally.
“There are three natural mercury belts on the planet, and the Northwest is one of them,” said Randy Ray, who represents the Pacific Seafood Processors Association. “In fact, Lake Whatcom has an advisory for mercury in recreationally caught fish, but the pollution comes from Mount Baker.
“Environmentalists have put out false information on fish and mercury. Going by FDA and EPA standards, there are only advisories on shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tuna steak and tile fish. Those fish are not commercially caught in the Northwest.”
Brown and Ray caution against over-reacting to mercury.
“There’s a little bit of mercury, but it’s not really a problem statewide or in the region,” Ray observed. “In the Midwest or Southeast, mercury from coal plants and industrial uses is a big issue. Here it is not.”
“There are substitutes for mercury, but at what price?” Brown asked. “If you get rid of fluorescent lights, you go back to incandescent bulbs, which will lead to higher energy costs.”
At times, Washington’s mercury reduction efforts have been burdensome on business. In 2002, the Department of Ecology (DOE) attempted to limit the number of cremations at the Columbia River Crematory in White Salmon. Why? Because small amounts of mercury were escaping through the crematory’s stack when bodies with mercury fillings were burned.
AWB intervened on behalf of the crematory and convinced DOE to reconsider its proposed regulation. In 2003, AWB successfully lobbied to exempt crematories from HB 1002. AWB was also successful in striking out provisions of the original bill that would have banned numerous products with mercury components from being bought or sold in Washington and required businesses that sold these products to pay for mercury waste disposal and education programs.
“Banning mercury-added products is an extreme approach,” remarked Nelson, who served on DOE’s Mercury Advisory Committee. “Before we go down that road, we must fully understand the economic consequences and balance those consequences with any improvement to the environment and human health. We need to base policy decisions on sound evidence and be careful to not over-react to public panic brought on by the environmental community.”
“Mercury must be kept in perspective,” Ray concluded. “Don’t use mercury as an excuse to waste money and prove that Washington is a bad place to do business.”
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