Finalization by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a rule that places mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs under the Universal Waste Rule, regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), will encourage recycling and proper disposal of the bulbs by making it easier and cheaper to recycle them. The rule will thus reduce the amount of hazardous waste reaching municipal landfills. Placing fluorescent bulbs under this rule will "better protect public health and the environment from mercury contamination," said EPA administrator Carol M. Browner in a 28 June 1999 EPA press release.
A new EPA rule will make it easier to recycle fluorescent bulbs, thus preventing disposal of many such mercury-containing lamps in landfills.
Fluorescent lamps contain mercury, an essential compound for operation that generates ultraviolet rays that react with the bulb's phosphorous coating to emit fluorescent light. Because fluorescent bulbs have been inconsistently disposed of, specific numbers on the amount discarded are unavailable. However, according to the EPA, mercury-containing bulbs account for 3.8% of all mercury now going to municipal landfills. Such bulbs continue to be a health and environmental concern. Mercury toxicity can cause impaired growth and development, reduced reproductive success, and death in humans. Mercury bioaccumulates most efficiently in the aquatic food chain, where it's converted into toxic methylmercury by bacteria. The primary pathway of exposure for humans and wildlife is by eating fish contaminated with mercury.
The EPA's primary objective in placing mercury-containing bulbs under the Universal Waste Rule is to minimize mercury emissions into the environment while encouraging recycling and proper disposal of fluorescent bulbs. The rule also encourages the manufacture of bulbs with lower mercury content. Items that fall under the category of universal waste include trash--such as batteries and thermostats--that is often thrown out by households and small businesses. Under the Universal Waste Rule, consumers can avoid many of the previously more stringent regulatory requirements for storing, transporting, and collecting mercury-containing bulbs. For example, the rule extends the amount of time that companies can accumulate such materials on site and allows them to transport such waste via a common carrier instead of a hazardous waste transporter.
The new rule is aimed at large firms and government agencies, which account for the majority of disposed bulbs. The EPA claims that the rule is expected to save companies more than $70 million per year in compliance costs. Currently, companies who use the mercury-containing bulbs in small quantities are not subject to RCRA waste management standards; if the company produces less than 5,000 kilograms of hazardous waste in one month, wastes may be sent to a municipal solid waste landfill. By placing fluorescent bulbs under the federal Universal Waste Rule, the EPA is encouraging states to regulate such bulbs, providing more consistency between federal and state regulations in the management of this kind of hazardous waste. The new rule takes effect 6 January 2000.
Source: http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107-12/forum.html#epa
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