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Published in Summer 2001
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Mercury pollution from the automobile industry
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Recycled automobiles comprise one of the largest sources of mercury pollution in North America, according to a report released in January 2001, writes Stéphane Gingras.
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By Stéphane Gingras
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Every year, some 12 million cars in the United States and Canada end up at the scrap yard. The hulks are shredded to recover various metals, and the steel is recycled in an electric-arc furnace. While reusable components, engine fluids and tires are taken from the vehicle before processing, mercury-containing switches are generally not removed. The result is that an estimated 8.8–10.2 metric tons of mercury is released into the environment every year, most of it in the form of atmospheric emissions from electric-arc furnaces.
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Mercury is an extremely dangerous substance. Living organisms convert the inorganic form into organic methyl mercury, which is highly toxic to the brain, permanently destroying neurons. Tiny quantities are sufficient to pollute entire ecosystems. For example, 1/70 of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate an eight-hectare lake to the point that fish are unsafe to eat. Most of the fish advisories issued for the Great Lakes and St-Lawrence River basin are the result of high mercury levels.
Solid waste incinerators and coal-fired power plants have long been recognized as major sources of mercury contamination. According to the report Toxics in Vehicles: Mercury, produced by Great Lakes United, The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan and the University of Tennessee’s Center for Clean Products and Clean Production, with funding from NAFEC, the steel recycling industry ranks as the fourth-largest source of mercury emissions to the environment. Of this, automobile recycling is probably the single largest contributor. The report calculates that the 235 million cars currently on the road in the US and Canada contain between 175 and 200 metric tons of mercury, which may be released into the environment when the cars reach the end of their useful life and are recycled.
Mercury is used mainly in switches in the hoods and trunks of North American cars, each switch containing close to one gram of mercury. According to the report, in 1996 11.2 metric tons of mercury was used in new cars. The industry reports that the amount of mercury in convenience lighting switches diminished by 62 to 77 percent between 1996 and 1999. However, the amount used in other components is rising: the use of mercury in anti-lock braking systems, for example, increased 130 to 180 percent between those same years. Mercury is also found in some high-intensity lights, navigation instruments, dashboards, and in-car entertainment systems.
While North American auto manufacturers have committed themselves to voluntarily phase out the use of mercury, some European and Japanese manufacturers stopped using the toxic metal as long ago as 1993. The European Union has adopted a directive that will ban mercury switches from every vehicle sold in Europe. (It also sets targets for recycling: to make it possible to reach these targets, cars sold after the end of 2004 will be required to be 95 percent—by weight—reusable and/or recoverable.) Any manufacturer wanting to sell cars in Europe will have to comply with the EU directive. Is there any reason why similar standards could not be adopted here in North America?
The report calls for a number of policy changes, including:
- an immediate ban on the use of mercury in new vehicles, and;
- financial responsibility for the recycling of vehicles and the removal of mercury-containing components in cars currently on the road to be assumed by the manufacturers and importers.
These changes would eliminate one of the most significant sources of mercury contamination of the environment and would be consistent with the objectives of the Commission’s North American Regional Action Plan on mercury.
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Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Automotive Industry In February 2001, Great Lakes United organized a workshop in Windsor, Ontario, on "Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Automotive Industry." EPR extends the manufacturer?s responsibility to the entire lifecycle of its products. Under the ultimate form of EPR, producers take back products at the end of their useful life (i.e., when discarded), either directly or through a third party. EPR is the critical link between product design and end-of-life disposal. EPR ultimately encourages companies to design products that are nontoxic and highly reusable and recyclable.
About 120 representatives of academia, the automobile industry, governments and automobile workers attended the workshop. Among the topics discussed was the new EU policy with the car directive and its impacts on the car manufacturing and recycling industries in North America. The outcome was that most participants expressed stronger support for the proposed policy changes and all gained a better understanding of the environmental impacts of cars, with particular regard to mercury. New networks were formed between all players and the future of the EPR campaign looks very promising.
Great Lakes United Great Lakes United (GLU) is an international coalition dedicated to preserving and restoring the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem. Through policy initiatives, education programs, and by promoting grassroots leadership and action by citizens, GLU seeks to ensure:
 clean water and clean air for all citizens,
better safeguards to protect the health of people and wildlife, and
a conservation ethic that will leave a healthy Great Lakes region.
The Great Lakes region is the center of the North American automotive industry, a major source of contaminants in the Great Lakes. Through its Clean Production program, GLU has been exploring practical ways to work towards the elimination of toxic substances resulting from car manufacture and disposal.
GLU is made up of member organizations representing environmentalists, conservationists, hunters and anglers, labor unions, community groups, and citizens of the United States, Canada, and First Nations and Tribes. To find out more about its programs and task forces, visit http://www.glu.org, or send an e-mail to glu@glu.org.
About the contributor
Stéphane Gingras
Stéphane Gingras holds a master?s degree in geography and environmental science. His 14-year career as an environmental activist began with the Mouvement Vert Mauricie. At Greenpeace International he worked on a campaign aimed at preventing trade in hazardous waste, dirty technologies and toxic products between OECD and non-OECD countries. He has been with Great Lakes United since May 1995, where he is currently Clean Production Coordinator.
Related web resources
North American Fund for Environmental Cooperation (NAFEC)
http://www.cec.org/pro
grams_projects/trade_
environ_econ/sustain_
agriculture/index.cfm
?varlan=english
North American Regional Action Plans (NARAP)
http://www.cec.org/pro
grams_projects/trade_
environ_econ/sustain_
agriculture/index.cfm
?varlan=english
Related web resources
Great Lakes United
http://www.cec.org/pro
grams_projects/trade_
environ_econ/sustain_
agriculture/index.cfm
?varlan=english
The Ecology Center
http://www.cec.org/pro
grams_projects/trade_
environ_econ/sustain_
agriculture/index.cfm
?varlan=english
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