Facts About Mercury

Though not a major thought on most consumers minds, products that contain mercury do need to be treated differently then others. From impaired speech to hindered neurological development, this neurotoxin has far-reaching effects. According to the Product Stewardship Institute, “the number of babies born each year in the U.S. with mercury in their blood at levels posing adverse developmental risks may be as high as 630,000 (an estimated 15.7 percent of annual births).”

Due to the fact that mercury is a highly toxic substance, and is extremely difficult to remove from the environment once released, it is important to recycle it. Through these efforts, we can decrease the amount of mercury in our environment and prevent new emissions. To find out where you can recycle household mercury in your area, use Earth911.

We risk exposure to mercury through a number of ways:

• Household accidents like breaking a fluorescent lamp, mercury switches like those in thermostats or a mercury thermometer
• Coal is burned for fuel. The U.S. EPA estimates that the U.S. is responsible for the release of 104 metric tons of mercury emissions each year because of the natural mercury content in coal.
• Ingestion of contaminated seafood. Mercury enters our food sources through a process known as “bioaccumulation.”
• Bioaccumulation occurs when mercury enters bodies of water through precipitation and other sources. Bacteria in soil and sediments convert it into methylmercury. Microscopic organisms consume the bacteria, which are then consumed by small fish, which are then consumed by larger fish. In this manner, we are most likely to ingest mercury when we eat large, older, predatory fish, such as shark, swordfish and the large tuna favored by sushi brokers.
• Some of the most common consumer products that contain mercury are: fluorescent lamps, older thermostats, button batteries (for use in watches, cameras, calculators, etc.) and paint pigments.
• The Thermostat Recycling Corporation collected more than 113,600 thermostats in 2006, containing over 1,080 pounds of mercury.
• According to a report provided by Energy Star, the average compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) contains three to five milligrams of mercury.
• According to WasteCap of Massachusetts, one mercury-containing home thermometer has the capacity to contaminate a 20-acre lake with enough mercury to result in a fish consumption warning.