Me: Starting today, state law restricts mercury disposal

[Guest guest]

{Of course, injected thimerosal continues to get a free pass via flu

shots and via the CDC's deliberate diluting of its 1999 findings. -}

Starting today, state law restricts mercury disposal

By GARY REMAL, Blethen Maine News Service

© 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/050101mercury.shtml

AUGUSTA — Lesley , head of Augusta's Bureau of Solid Waste,

received a call this week from a man asking what he should do with used

fluorescent bulbs. When said he should bring the mercury

vapor-filled bulbs to a special storage facility at the city landfill -

where he would be charged to leave them off - the caller hung up.

She suspects she knows where they ended up - smashed and tossed in the

trash, with mercury released into the air.

Starting today, that will be illegal.

A new Maine law requires that homeowners dispose of mercury-containing

household products at special handling sites, to prevent release of the

toxic substance.

The law has been on the books for several years. But until now, it

applied only to businesses.

The new restrictions on household wastes were delayed three years. As a

result, many state environmental and waste management officials

acknowledge that consumers may still be unaware of the disposal

requirements for items such as fluorescent bulbs, batteries, thermostats

and old-style thermometers.

Mercury also can be found in some older appliances, such as chest

freezers and washing machines.

" We've tried our best to get the word out. Aside from paid advertising,

everything's been done, " said Tom Miragliuolo of the Maine State

Planning Office. " We're trying to educate . . . the facility managers,

so when this stuff comes in they know what to do with it. It's up to

individual towns, in a sense, how they let individuals know. "

TVs, COMPUTERS NEXT ON LIST

The next deadline in the law arrives Jan. 1, 2006, when all televisions,

computers and computer monitors will have to be separated, state

officials said.

While most programs charge consumers for the cost of disposal, the new

state law prevents the imposition of fines or other penalties on those

who violate it, Assistant Attorney General Dennis J. Harnish said.

" The idea was that we would not go after householders. The legislators

probably thought we'd get a lot of heat if we did that, " Harnish said.

" The department, long-term, is hoping, I think, to ban these products

from being sold so this waste stream will dry up. "

A naturally occurring element in the environment, processed mercury is

toxic even in tiny doses.

Health problems caused by mercury depend on how much enters the body,

how it entered the body and how long a person has been exposed to it,

according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Processed mercury has become a concern because, when discarded, it

persists in the environment. When mercury enters water, biological

processes transform it to a highly toxic form that builds up in fish and

animals that eat fish.

said Augusta's landfill has been providing special handling of

what is known as " universal waste " since May.

The city stores the products that are dropped off until they can be

picked up by a private disposal contractor. The contractor then delivers

the items to special handling facilities, mostly out of state, where the

mercury is extracted and recycled and the inert parts recycled or

disposed of in traditional ways.

RESIDENTS CHARGED A FEE

Residents who drop off items on the list of specialized waste products

are charged a fee comparable to the city's cost for disposal,

said. As with many municipal programs set up to handle

mercury-containing waste, Augusta also accepts computers and

televisions, which Maine householders will be required to turn in

beginning on Jan. 1, 2006.

Waterville has taken a different tack, taking advantage of state law

that requires municipalities to provide some way for residents to

properly dispose of universal wastes " at least once a year. "

Jim Toner, community services director, said Waterville for the past

three years has offered a one-day drop-off for a whole range of

hazardous products - including those with mercury and computers - in

conjunction with other communities. A fee is charged.

Last summer, more than 100 Waterville residents took advantage of the

program. The one-day event filled more than two trailers with computers

and TVs from eight municipalities, he said.

A private firm is exploring the possibility of providing the service

commercially, which could make the municipal program obsolete in the

future, he said.

The state has provided $823,000 in grants to more than 100

municipalities and regional groups to help set up mercury collection

programs, Miragliuolo said. Another $477,000 remains in the fund to pay

for ongoing projects.

Many of the municipal grants went to construct storage buildings,

Miragliuolo said. But each municipal grant also requires some money to

be used for education.

" I'd say close to two-thirds of the communities in the state have access

to some sort of system, towns have built sheds or something, "

Miragliuolo said.

*

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