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Prevent Mercury Poisoning:
Keep Fluorescent Lights Out of Landfills
Mercury is a toxic element that poses a significant threat to public health and the environment. The largest new source of mercury results from improper disposal of fluorescent lamps, thermometers, dental amalgams, and other products to which mercury has been added. Senate Bill 1180 (Figueroa) reduces the danger posed by improperly and illegally discarded fluorescent lamps by establishing financial incentives and funding a convenient recycling program.
The dangers of mercury are well-documented and numerous:
- Human exposure to mercury can cause damage to the central nervous, immune and reproductive systems. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 8% of women of childbearing age have accumulated mercury in their blood exceeding safe levels for healthy fetal neurological development.
- The US EPA has identified ‘significant concentrations’ of mercury in groundwater at landfill sites.
- Bacteria in landfills convert mercury from disposed fluorescent lamps into far more toxic forms that accumulate up the food chain.
- One gram of airborne mercury, or the content of 25 fluorescent lamps, is enough to contaminate a 20-acre body of water and prompt state health department warnings that fish are unsafe to eat.
Nationally, the total amount of mercury in disposable products, such as fluorescent lamps, exceeds the release of mercury from coal burning utilities by five times, according to the US EPA. In California, over 81 million fluorescent lamps are sold annually, containing over 1 million grams of mercury. Although it has been illegal since 1976 for large companies to dispose of fluorescent lamps in landfills, an estimated 61.8 million fluorescent lamps end up in California’s landfills annually.
SB 1180 would establish a front-end mercury clean-up and recycling fee on all fluorescent lamps sold in California, paid by manufacturers and distributors, not the retailers. Funds generated by the fee would be used to offset costs for public agencies and private recyclers to establish and operate fluorescent lamp recycling systems. The bill would also restrict the export of hazardous fluorescent lamps. SB 1180 would also require manufacturers to label lamps with regard to the presence of toxic mercury and with information on proper handling and opportunities for recycling. SB 1180 now has the support of one of the three major fluorescent lamp manufacturers—Philips Lighting. SB 1180 also sets a variable fee to encourage companies to reduce their mercury use in lamps—i.e., lamps with less than a designated amount of mercury per lamp will be charged a lower fee than those with more mercury, in order to encourage source reduction.
What You Can Do
The recycling of fluorescent lights is one of the most effective, easily implemented measures that can be taken to reduce mercury exposure. SB 1180 has passed through the Senate and is now being heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Please contact your Assembly Member and encourage him or her to support SB 1180 in committee and on the Assembly floor.
See our sample letter and send one to your Assembly Member!
Your Assembly Member
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
To find your Assembly Member's contact information, and to see whether he or she is on the Assembly Appropriations committee, see the Assembly web site and click on "Find My District."
