Groups Hail Assembly Passage of Mercury Pollution Prevention Bill and Urge Immediate Senate Action
(ALBANY, NY) Environmental groups applauded the New York State Assembly for passing a bill this afternoon to reduce mercury pollution in New York. The legislation would create a mandatory program to collect and safely dispose of mercury-containing thermostats, a major source of mercury in the waste stream.
The groups urged leaders in the State Senate, where a more modest measure has been proposed, to meet as soon as possible with the Assembly to negotiate on language that both houses can agree upon and pass before the legislative session ends on June 20th.
While thermostats containing mercury are no longer sold in New York, they pose a serious environmental threat when they are disposed of improperly. Each year more than a ton of mercury ends up in New York’s landfills and incinerators from discarded mercury thermostats, poisoning New York’s air, land and water. Fish in hundreds of lakes and streams in New York are unsafe to eat because of mercury contamination.
Other states have taken action to address this problem. With a collection rate of just over 1%, New York currently ranks 37th in the nation for the collection of these mercury-containing thermostats. Separate bills have been introduced in both the Assembly (A. 1048, Sweeney) and the Senate (S. 1676, Grissini) that would require the manufacturers of mercury-containing thermostats to establish much more effective collection programs for out-of-service units.
Environmental groups are urging the Senate and Assembly to work out the differences between their bills and create a robust collection program that will protect our environment from mercury poisoning. Any final agreement must include strong performance standards, a financial bounty to encourage greater participation, and grant the DEC the authority to make changes to the program if collection targets are not met.
In addition to environmental and public health groups, Covanta Energy, the NYS Association of Reuse, Reduction and Recycling (NYSAR3), the City of New York, and many local governments are calling for passage of this legislation.
The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) was founded in 1989 as a nonpartisan, policy-making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision makers, and voters by evaluating incumbent performance and endorsing and electing environmental leaders to office in New York State.
