Help reduce Mercury in Illinois

PLEASE CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND ASK HIM/HER TO VOTE YES ON HB 5578!!

Mercury Switch Removal Act.

This bill will require mercury switches to be removed from vehicles before the vehicle is crushed or shredded at the end of its life.

This is a state bill. You can call your Illinois state representative in Springfield at 217-782-2000. Ask for him/her by name. You can find out who your Illinois representative is as well as access their email and local phone number at http://www.elections.state.il.us/dls/pages/DLSAddresscrit.asp

Be sure to leave your name and address so they know you are a constituent.

Background

Although mercury switches have been banned in European automobiles since 1993, cars produced in the United States were manufactured with mercury containing switches prior to 2003. They are the second greatest cause of mercury pollution in Illinois after coal-fired power plants. These switches are used to control interior and convenience lighting in cars and as well as in antilock brake systems. The mercury in the switch is contained within a protective capsule and poses no threat during the active life of the switch. However, when a car reaches the end of its life, it is crushed or shredded before it is recycled as scrap steel, and the protective capsule breaks, releasing mercury. In the process of recycling the steel is melted at very high temperatures in an electric arc furnace. The mercury, being a very volatile metal, is released into the air and becomes airborne and eventually is deposited in our lakes and rivers. It’s a familiar story how the mercury accumulates in fish as larger fish eat the smaller fish and the levels of mercury increase up the food chain.

Mercury is very toxic and will never break down. It causes mental retardation and is suspected in the epidemic of autism in the United States. According to recent studies, one out of four women in Illinois has unsafe levels of mercury in their bodies. It is essential, therefore, that we limit the mercury being released in the environment.

What this bill will do

This bill will require mercury containing switches to be removed from vehicles at the end of the vehicles’ life before vehicle is crushed or shredded and recycled for the steel. The bill will provide financial incentives for collection of mercury switches and will require that the mercury be recycled or disposed of safely, according to hazardous waste rules.

Automobile manufacturers are opposed to this bill because they bear the cost of removing the switches. Yet they knew were highly toxic when they put them in and had long ceased to put them in European cars.

Please ACT TODAY, and tell your state representative to vote YES on HB 5521. Tell them it is for the health of their constituents. It is for our children. It is for our future.

For more information, visit http://illinois.sierraclub.org and click on “Legislative.”

Thanks for all your work on this important bill.

Judy Kleiman and Linda Sullivan