Zero Mercury Action Plan

This ten-point action plan should guide the efforts of the New England states to virtually eliminate mercury by 2010 as an interim goal on the path toward zero mercury. The New England Zero Mercury Campaign has graded each State’s progress on the basis of whether specific steps have been taken to reduce mercury in each of the ten action areas below.

1. Remove, collect and recycle mercury products

Disposal Ban. Enact a disposal ban that prohibits mercury-added products from being discarded in solid waste intended for incineration or landfilling.

Source Separation. Require that mercury-added products be separated from the waste stream when the product is removed from service.

Collection System. Implement the infrastructure to collect and recycle mercury-added products from businesses, institutions and households.

Auto Scrapping. Implement a system to ensure that mercury-added products are removed from automobiles prior to scrapping.

Take Back. Implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies to ensure that manufacturers take back mercury-added products after their useful life is over.

2. Phase out the sale of mercury-added products in favor of safer available alternatives

Thermometers. Ban the sale of mercury fever thermometers.

Schools. Ban the sale of bulk elemental mercury or mercury compounds to elementary and secondary schools.

Hospitals. Secure a commitment from hospitals throughout the state to virtually eliminate mercury from health care facilities by 2003.

Thermostats. Ban the sale of mercury-added thermostats.

Phase Out. Establish a schedule to phase out the sale of most mercury-added products by 2010 and promote development of safer alternatives for the few remaining uses.

3. Disclose the mercury content of all mercury-containing products, in the interim

Labeling. Require the labeling of all mercury-added products.

Notification. Require manufacturers of mercury-added products to notify the state regarding the amount of mercury and types of mercury products sold in the state.

Hospitals. Require that manufacturers of mercury-containing products sold to health care facilities disclose the mercury content down to a level of 200 parts per trillion, upon request.

Database. Establish a database of mercury-added products and their mercury content.

Consumer Education. Distribute materials on mercury-added products and their alternatives for individual and institutional consumers, including what to do about mercury spills.

4. Prevent and reduce mercury releases from the use of dental amalgam

Filtration. Require that dental offices install advanced filtration treatment units to remove mercury from wastewater prior to discharge into sewer systems.

Disclosure. Require that dentists provide information to patients about the potential advantages and disadvantages to oral health, overall human health and the environment from use of mercury in dental amalgam and from mercury-free alternatives.

Insurance. Require that dental insurers provide coverage to state employees for mercury-free composite fillings equivalent to that provided for dental amalgam containing mercury to facilitate source reduction.

Alternatives. Conduct an evaluation of alternatives to dental amalgam and track mercury use reduction efforts in the dental industry.

Crematoria. Require that crematoria reduce and prevent mercury air emissions.

5. Dramatically reduce reliance on coal burning throughout New England

Utility Emissions. Require in-state coal-burning power plants to reduce mercury air emissions by 90% by 2005 (compared to a 1997 baseline) and advocate that upwind out-of-state coal-fired plants meet the same standard.

Utility Conversion. Evaluate the feasibility of converting coal-fired power plants to natural gas and/or replacing the same amount of electrical generating capacity through increased efficiency and renewable energy sources that have minimal impact on the environment.

Other Sectors. Take action to reduce and eliminate coal burning in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors through increased efficiency, weatherization, fuel switching and burner upgrades.

Siting/Expansion. Establish a policy to prevent the siting of new coal-fired power plants or the expansion of existing coal-fired plants in the state.

Phase Out. Adopt a plan by 2005 to achieve an eventual phase out of all coal burning in the state through conversion to natural gas and/or replacement with renewable energy sources that have a minimal impact on the environment.

6. Reduce mercury emissions and the burning of fuel oil for heat and electricity through conservation

Emission Standards. Achieve partial control of mercury by requiring that all power plants meet modern emission reduction standards for smog, putting an end to grandfathering and emissions trading.

Home Heating. Take aggressive action to reduce the burning of home heating oil through home energy conservation programs, e.g. insulation and weatherization, and furnace/stove upgrades.

Home Efficiency. Take aggressive action to promote higher efficiency in home electricity use in lighting, heating, and appliances.

Business Efficiency. Take aggressive action to promote higher efficiency in business and institutional use of electricity in lighting, motors and other machines.

Cleaner Energy. Take aggressive action to convert oil-fired boilers to natural gas and to develop renewable sources of energy that have a minimal impact on the environment.

7. Use strict health-based standards to limit mercury releases and human exposure

Exposure. For a maximum daily exposure limit, use the EPA Reference Dose (RfD) of 0.1 micrograms of mercury per kilogram of bodyweight per day (ug/kgbw/d).

Fish Tissue. As an action level for consumption advisories, use a health-based fish tissue standard, such as 0.2 milligrams of mercury per kilogram of fish (mg/kg) or 0.2 parts per million (ppm) adopted by Maine.

Water Quality. Adopt a health-based fish tissue action level as an enforceable water quality criterion, and adopt an ambient water quality criterion for mercury that protects human health such as 1.8 parts per trillion (ppt) as adopted by the Great Lakes region.

Effluent Limits. Require that all wastewater dischargers implement mercury pollution prevention plans that move them toward compliance with health-based water quality criteria.

Sewage Sludge. Require strict technology-based standards, in uniformity with neighboring states, for allowable levels of mercury in sewage sludge that can be land-applied, with the goal of not increasing mercury concentrations above existing ambient levels in soils.

8. Issue protective statewide health warnings to limit eating of mercury tainted fish

Statewide Warning. Issue a statewide advisory for all water bodies that warns people to limit or avoid consumption of specified freshwater fish due to mercury contamination.

Basis for Statewide Warning. If more than 5% of the water bodies tested have a fish species with average mercury levels above the fish tissue action level then a statewide consumption advisory should be triggered for that species. (This ensures protection from mercury for at least 95% of the water bodies in the state).

Seafood Warning. Issue a seafood advisory that includes a warning to women of childbearing age and young children to avoid eating swordfish, shark, king mackerel, tilefish and tuna steaks, and to limit eating of canned tuna to one can per week for women of child bearing age and to one ounce per twenty pounds of body weight per week for young children.

Basis for Seafood Warning. Use the EPA Reference Dose as the basis for the seafood advisory for mercury.

Monitoring. Conduct yearly monitoring of water bodies and fish tissue for mercury contamination and communicate those results to the public.

9. Communicate health hazards to effectively reduce mercury exposure from eating fish

Information. Publish information on mercury hazards from fish consumption that includes safe eating guidelines and consumption advisories.

Communication. Take action to effectively communicate the health warnings for fish consumption through culturally sensitive outreach to women of childbearing age and their families, and to Native American, ethnic, immigrant and low income communities that may traditionally eat more fish in their diet.

Health Care. Conduct educational outreach to health care providers regarding mercury hazards, exposure to sensitive populations and fish consumption advisories.

Restaurants. Require that restaurants that sell seafood subject to the state’s consumption advisory to disclose the health warning regarding mercury to their patrons.

Groceries. Require that grocery stores and other retailers that sell fresh fish subject to the state’s consumption advisory to label and disclose the health warning regarding mercury.

10. Take action to promote federal policy decisions to reduce and retire mercury

Power Plants. Publicly support the adoption of regulations by U.S. EPA to significantly reduce mercury air emissions from power plants by no later than 2004, and related proposed federal legislation.

Seafood. Publicly support increased testing of commercial seafood for mercury by the Food and Drug Administration and FDA removal of high mercury fish shipments from commerce.

Retirement. Publicly support the long term storage and containment of government and industry stockpiles of elemental mercury and urge federal acceptance of surplus mercury from the chlor-alkali industry pending a permanent retirement solution, and related proposed federal legislation.

Chlor-Alkali. Publicly support the complete phase out of the mercury-cell chlor-alkali production process in the United States by 2010 in favor of mercury-free alternatives.

International. Publicly support U.S. leadership in working with the United Nations to develop an international treaty to globally phase-out production, use and release of mercury, and related proposed federal legislation that promotes a global solution to mercury pollution.