Mercury Pollution From Automobiles At Record Levels

(07 April 2004 — Detroit) According to a new analysis by the Clean Car Campaign, a record 18,000 pounds of mercury pollution was released into the U.S. environment last year when scrap vehicles were recycled.  An estimated 259,000 pounds of mercury have been released into the environment over the past 30 years.  Most troubling, according to the analysis, is that approximately an equal amount could be released over the next two decades if action is not taken soon to recover the mercury in vehicles before they are scraped. To download a copy of the report, go to:
http://www.cleancarcampaign.org/mercuryupdate.shtml

“Automobile companies and lawmakers have ignored this serious public health threat for too long, and time is running short,” said Karen Thomas of Environmental Defense.  “Failing to adopt cost-effective programs to reduce mercury pollution in our lakes and waterways is unnecessary and irresponsible.”

Domestic automakers have used more than 200 million, one-gram mercury switches in vehicles since the early 1970’s.  In January 2001, the Ecology Center and Environmental Defense released reports documenting that the processing of scrap automobiles at steel manufacturing facilities was the 4th largest source of mercury emissions into the environment.  The reports called on auto manufacturers to take immediate steps to eliminate mercury use in new vehicles, and to remove, collect and replace mercury switches in vehicles already on the road.  Since the 2001 reports, automakers completed an accelerated phase-out of mercury switches in new vehicles, but have done little to encourage the recovery of mercury from the millions of vehicles still on the road.

“In the three years since the reports, less than one percent of the mercury in vehicles has been recovered nationally, resulting in the release of an estimated 54,000 pounds of mercury into the environment,” stated Jeff Gearhart of the Ecology Center. “It’s time for automakers to be part of the solution, not part of problem.”

Legislation requiring automakers to share responsibility for this problem has been introduced in several states, including New Jersey, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and is law in the State of Maine.  Maine’s legislation requires automakers to pay a minimum of $1 per switch to auto dismantlers that turn in switches to designated collection centers.  Earlier this year, the automakers’ trade association—the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM)— lost a legal challenge to Maine’s auto switch law.  The AAM has also hired high-profile lobbyists in states across the country to defeat similar legislative efforts to recover mercury auto switches. 

The Clean Car Campaign analysis highlights model legislation that would require automakers to help pay for the removal and collection of mercury switches from vehicles before they are processed for recycling.  This legislation was developed through a collaborative effort that included both industry and environmentalist organizations, the Partnership for Mercury-Free Vehicles. 

Mercury is a persistent heavy metal that is highly toxic to humans and wildlife and is dangerous in even tiny amounts.  The Environmental Protection Agency has recently estimated that one in every six women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her blood to pose a risk to her child - resulting in over 600,000 children being born each year overexposed to mercury.   Mercury contamination is bioaccumulative; therefore its concentration increases up the food chain.  As a result, top predator fish have mercury concentrations up to a million times higher than the surrounding water.

The Clean Car Campaign is coordinated by the Ecology Center and Environmental Defense.

The Ecology Center is a regional environmental organization based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which works for clean air, safe water, and environmental justice.  The Auto Project of the Ecology Center works to address the toxic and health issues related to the production of automobiles and promotes cleaner vehicle technologies.