Binational Toxics Strategy Mercury Workgroup - Reducing Mercury in the Great Lakes Region

Households and Small Businesses; Mercury Collection and Waste Management

• Indiana Department of Environmental Management has a Mercury Awareness Program to promote awareness of mercury and promote collection of mercury through Indiana Solid Waste Management Districts. It includes instructions on how to identify, dispose of and replace various mercury-containing items, and includes advice on cleaning up spills.
• Wisconsin DNR has a Community Mercury Reduction program. 
• Bowling Green State University, in cooperation with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, runs a free mercury collection program.
• EcoSuperior, centered in Thunder Bay, Ontario has a Merc-Divert Superior program, focusing on removing mercury from household and small business waste.
• Maine Department of Environmental Protection reports on mercury-containing products.
• Fever thermometers are the most common sources of household mercury spills.  The Binational Toxics Strategy Mercury Thermometer Page has an FAQ and links on mercury thermometers.

Appliances

• Franklin County, MA's Mercury Switches in Appliances: Final Report (on the web courtesy of the mercury workgroup).

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Lamps

• Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 advice and information on managing spent fluorescent lamps.
• Presentations on mercury and lamps, cradle to grave, at the December 16, 2003 mercury workgroup meeting.
• The Lamp Section of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, along with lamp recyclers, have a site that provides lamp recycling contacts in all fifty states, links to state websites on lamps, a list of recyclers, and other useful information.

The Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclerspromotes mercury lamp recycling and provides practical information for state and local government agencies and users of fluorescent or high intensity discharge (HID) lamps.
• The Canada-Wide Standard for Mercury Containing Lamps (PDF, 8 pp, 150KB).
• US Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule on July 6, 1999 that simplifies the regulatory requirements for management of waste lamps that contain mercury, allowing them to be treated as "universal wastes."
• Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has developed information on How to Manage Used Fluorescent and High-Intensity-Discharge Lamps as Universal Wastes. 
• The US Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Energy Energy Star page has information about energy-efficiency in lighting and in buildings generally.

Thermostats

• The Thermostat Recycling Corporation, established by Honeywell, White-Rogers and General Electric, offers free recycling of mercury thermostats through wholesalers.
• The Product Stewardship Institute's Thermostat Project.
• Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Mercury - Thermostats topic hub.
• Indiana Department of Environmental Management has a Mercury Thermostat Reduction and Recycling Pledge Program.

Institutions

Sewage Treatment Plants

• US Environmental Protection Agency Region 5's Final Mercury Pollutant Minimization Program Guidance for publicly owned treatment works.
• The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)-- formerly the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA).
• The Delta Institute's Roadmap to Mercury Pollution Prevention for Sewage Treatment Plants.
• Pollution Prevention at POTWs is a resource listing (of people, programs and publications), compiled by Region 5, containing a lot of useful information on activities aimed at reducing releases of mercury.
• Western Lake Superior Sanitary District's pollution prevention web page contains a lot of good information about mercury, including a Blueprint For Mercury Elimination at Publicly Owned Treatment Works.
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains information on mercury reduction options for a variety of different sectors, including a chapter on Wastewater Treatment Plants. 

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Healthcare

• Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) has a webpage on multiple aspects of hospitals and environmental projection, including a Mercury Virtual Elimination Plan.  H2E was created by a Memorandum of Understanding between US Environmental Protection Agency and the American Hospital Association which commits to seeking virtual elimination of mercury from the hospital wastestream.
• Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Mercury - Healthcare topic hub.
• The Food and Drug Administration report, Mercury Compounds in Drugs and Food 
• The Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention has a page on Promoting Pollution Prevention and Sustainability in the Health Care Sector. 
• Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance has a report on Pollution Prevention Strategies for the Health Care Industry and a bimonthly newsletter on Health Care Environmentally Preferable Purchasing.
• The Sustainable Hospitals Project of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production.
• Reducing Mercury in Healthcare, Monroe County, New York, Department of Health
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains chapters on: 
• Hospitals and Clinics 
• Nursing Homes 
• Veterinary Clinics 
• Mercury Use Reduction & Waste Prevention in Medical Facilities -- educational software for the Web by US Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and Purdue University
• Health Care Without Harm is a collaborative campaign for environmentally responsible health care, including a pledge program to make hospitals "mercury free."
• Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Mercury - Thermometers topic hub.
• Binational Toxics Strategy Mercury Thermometer Page: FAQ and links on mercury thermometers.

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Dentistry

• Options for Dental Mercury Reduction Programs: (PDF, 68 pp., 588KB) Information for State and Local Governments, A report of the Binational Toxics Strategy Mercury Workgroup Co-Chairs (Revised August 4, 2004).
• ADA's Best Management Practices for Amalgam Waste (PDF, 7 pp., 150KB) (March 2004).
• Binational Toxics Strategy meeting on Reducing Dental Mercury, December 2, 2002, and a summary presentation by Mark Stone of the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research.
• The Canadian Dental Association has a memorandum of understanding with Environment Canada on reducing dental amalgam waste.
• The American Dental Association's page on dental amalgam.
• Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Mercury-Dental topic hub.
• The Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research has a web page on Dental Mercury Environmental Issues. 
• Minnesota Dental Association and Metro Council Environmental Services are cooperating on a program to promote voluntary installation of amalgam separators in Minnesota.
• King County, WA's Mercury in Dental Waste Amalgam: Why is it Still a Problem?
• Kansas State University's Pollution Prevention Institute's The Proper Place for Dental Waste A Curriculum for Kansas Dental Schools. 
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains a chapter on Dentists. 

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Schools

• The center for information on Mercury in Schools, created for the Mercury Workgroup by Wisconsin's Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center.
• Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable's Mercury - Schools topic hub.
• Mercury: in Your Community and the Environment, is a curriculum package on mercury and source of information about reducing mercury in schools. 
• Michigan DEQ's Mercury Phase Out in Schools page. 
• Indiana has a Mercury Reduction and Recycling for Schools Pledge Program. 
• Vermont has a one-time Science Lab Chemical and Mercury Clean-out project for middle and secondary schools.
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains a chapter on Educational Institutions. 

Heavy Industry

General (Relating to all Industrial Uses of Mercury Devices)

• The National Partnership for Environmental Priorities Mercury Challenge: An EPA Program to recognize institutions that identify mercury in their facilities and in the products they make, replace mercury-containing equipment with nonmercury alternatives, dispose of mercury-containing equipment safely, establish mercury free purchasing policies and iInform and educate staff, suppliers, and clients about mercury issues and non-mercury alternatives.
  
• An update on the Mercury Agreement Reduction Program of: International Steel Group, Burns Harbor; Ispat Inland, East Chicago, and US Steel, Gary, January 2004. (PDF, 34 pp., 1.24 MB).
• A Guide to Mercury Reduction in Industrial and Commercial Settings, (PDF, 52 pp., 359KB) a Joint Effort by Ispat Inland Indiana Harbor Works, Bethlehem Steel Burns Harbor Division, US Steel Gary Works, The Delta Institute, and the Lake Michigan Forum.
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains a chapter on mercury use in the Metals Industry. 

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Electric Utilities

• Environmental Protection Agency's proposed utility mercury reduction rules.
• The Clear Skies Initiative would reduce emissions of mercury through a nationwide "cap-and-trade" program.
• Wisconsin DNR is developing a mercury emissions reduction rule, which would limit mercury emissions from electric utilities. 
• Community action items that can reduce mercury releases from utilities were identified at a November 18, 1998 Binational Strategy workshop in Chicago.
• US Environmental Protection Agency's Study of Hazardous Air Pollutant Emissions from Electric Utility Steam Generating Units contains an analysis of air toxics emissions (including mercury) from utility plants, risk assessment, and discussion of controls.
• The utility industry is undergoing restructuring and competition in power generation is beginning. The Department of Energy Office of Policy has information available about competition and utility restructuring.
• Energy efficiency and use of renewable energy can reduce emissions of mercury and other pollutants. Check the Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network page. 

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Chlor-alkali Industry

• Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a regulation to control emissions from mercury cell chlor-alkali plants.
• The Chlorine Institute represents the chlor-alkali industry, and has voluntarily committed to reducing mercury use 50 percent by 2005. The Institute releases annual reports on progress towards meeting this commitment, placed on the web courtesy of the mercury workgroup.
  • Eleventh inth Annual Report (PDF, 16 pp., 210KB) (Sept 2009)
  • Tenth Annual Report (PDF, 15 pp., 208KB) (Aug 2007)
  • Ninth Annual Report (PDF, 10 pp., 91KB) (May 2006)
  • Eighth Annual Report (PDF, 11 pp., 192KB) (May 2005)
• Seventh Annual Report (PDF, 10 pp., 142KB) (July 2004)
• Sixth Annual Report (PDF, 7 pp., 137KB) (May 2003)
• Fifth Annual Report (PDF, 7 pp., 818KB) (April 2002)
• Fourth Annual Report (April 2001)
• Guidelines for Mercury Cell Chlor-Alkali-Plants Emission Control: Practices and Techniques (PDF, 17 pp., 159KB) (April 2001)
• Third Annual Report (May 2000)
• Guidelines for Technologies to Reduce Mercury in Sodium Hydroxide -- (PDF, 17 pp., 125KB) (April 2000).  Electronically-available appendices:
• Analytical Considerations (PDF, 2 pp., 21KB)
• Survey of Mechanical Filtration from 50% Sodium Hydroxide Solutions (PDF, 16 pp., 86KB)
• Optimization of RP Adams Filter (PDF, 15 pp., 145KB)
• Selective Absorption Technologies (PDF, 2 pp., 21KB)
• Second Annual Report (May 1999)
• Guidelines for Conducting a Mercury Balance (PDF, 34 pp., 213KB) (May 1999)
• Guidelines to Physicians in Conducting Mercury Medical Surveillance Programs (PDF, 20 pp., 73KB) (December 1998)
• First Annual Report (May 1998)
• Chlorine Institute Pamphlet 154 - Guidelines for the Handling of Rubber Lined Cell Parts Potentially Contaminated with Mercury (PDF, 11 pp., 41KB) (January 1998)
• On October 24, 2002, representatives of Pioneer and DeNora North America met with staff from US Environmental Protection Agency and State agencies at the Pioneer chlor-alkali plant in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, and provided perspectives on Mercury Inventory (PDF, 5 pp., 33KB) and Mercury Addition to St. Gabriel (PDF, 10 pp., 491KB). These presentations explain the reasons for recent increases in mercury purchases at this plant, provide insight into future trends in mercury purchases, use, and releases.
• Characteristics of Mercury Emissions at a Chlor-Alkali Plant (PDF, 267 pp., 1.44 MB), A Report Prepared for Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 by National Risk Management Research Laboratory, March 2002.

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Iron and Steel Production (and Scrap Use)

• Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a regulation to control emissions from iron and steel foundries, which includes a work practice requirement to ensure removal of auto mercury switches from scrap.
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has produced a report, Mercury Contamination from Metal Scrap Processing Facilities, (PDF, 10 pp., 43KB) showing significant mercury emissions at electric arc furnaces resulting from mercury in scrap, and showing a relationship between scrap type and mercury emissions.
• The Clean Car Campaign's report on Toxics in Vehicles: Mercury (PDF, 76 pp., 1.37 MB) (January 2001), chapter 4, contains an estimate of mercury emissions resulting from use of scrap steel.
• The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries calls on scrap processors to remove mercury switches from vehlices, and the auto industry to support these efforts. 
• Mercury devices in appliances contribute to mercury emissions from iron and steel production using scrap.

Auto Industry

• The Clean Car Campaign of the Ecology Center, Great Lakes United, University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies have produced a report on Toxics in Vehicles: Mercury (PDF, 76 pp., 1.37 MB) (January 2001).
• The Recycling Council of Ontario's report, Management of End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in Ontario (April 1999) includes information about mercury switches.
• A Binational Toxics Strategy page about auto switch removal, including how-to advice and guidance from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on regulatory issues related to auto mercury switch removal, proper management of mercury-containing switches in autos, and estimates of the number of mercury switches per vehicle.
• The Wisconsin Mercury Sourcebook contains a chapter on mercury use in the Automotive Sector

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