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Prevent Mercury Poisoning:

Keep Fluorescent Lights Out of Landfills

Please personalize this letter for your Assembly Member.

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The Honorable (First and Last Name)
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

(Today's Date), 2004

Dear Assemblymember __________,

As a resident of California and your constituent, I urge you to support Senate Bill 1180, authored by Senator Liz Figueroa, which would help reduce the danger posed by discarded fluorescent lamps by establishing financial incentives and funding a convenient recycling program.

Mercury is a toxin that threatens public health and the environment. Human exposure to small amounts of mercury can cause damage to the central nervous, immune and reproductive systems. The largest new source of mercury is improper disposal of fluorescent lamps and other products to which mercury has been added. Nationally, the total amount of mercury in disposable products exceeds the release of mercury from coal burning utilities by five times, according to the US EPA. 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 reduces the danger posed by improperly and illegally discarded fluorescent lamps by establishing financial incentives and funding a convenient recycling program. The bill even has the support of one of the three major fluorescent lamp manufacturers—Philips Lighting.

The recycling of fluorescent lamps is one of the most effective, easily implemented measures that can be taken to reduce mercury exposure. Please support SB 1180 both in committee and on the floor.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

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