Mercury Reduction Program Publications

Reducing Mercury in the Northeast United States
Over the past 10 years, the states in the Northeast United States—for purposes of this article, the Northeast States are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont—have put tremendous effort into regional approaches to reduce mercury in the environment. In 1998, the New England Governors (NEG) and Eastern Canadian Premiers (ECP) Committee on the Environment formed a regional mercury task force with a goal of virtually eliminating all in-region humanrelated sources of mercury emissions and discharges. This initiative was instrumental in jump-starting mercury reduction programs across the region.

This article appears in the May 2008 issue of EM Magazine, a publication of the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA; www.awma.org). To obtain copies and reprints, please contact A&WMA directly at 1-412-232-3444.

Mercury Success Stories:
NEWMOA and its sister organizations, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) collaborated on a series of reports that describe some of the results of mercury reduction programs in the northeast region that have targeted emissions controls, reduction and management of mercury-containing products, and wastewater discharges. To find the overall executive summary of the results of the three reports combined and each individual report, use these links:

• Press Release
• Summary
• NEIWPCC
• NESCAUM
• NEWMOA

New Jersey DEP Dental Amalgam Posters:
NEWMOA collaborated with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) and developed posters for dentists on best management practices for dental amalgam waste and for dental patients on their choices of restorative materials. The posters were funded by EPA Region 2.

• Best Management Practices for Amalgam Waste
• Dentists are Doing Their Part

New York Dental Amalgam Poster: (pdf) NEWMOA developed a poster on best management practices for handling of dental amalgam wastes for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The poster was was funded by EPA, Region 2.

Reported Mercury Spills in the Northeast States: (doc, pdf) NEWMOA compiled publicly available data from environmental and public health agencies in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont on the occurrence of spills of mercury.

Instructions for Cleaning Up "Small" Mercury Spills in Households: (doc, pdf) With input from the state environmental agencies of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, NEWMOA combined available mercury spill clean-up instructions with the experience of individuals who have cleaned up mercury spills to create this document. It contains basic clean-up instructions for a small liquid mercury spill.

Mercury in Schools and Communities: Information on identifying and removing elemental mercury and products containing mercury from schools and from homes.

State-specific lamp recycling awareness flyers:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Rhode Island
• Vermont, see www.mercvt.org

Advertisement: Don't trash fluorescent lamps! Recycle them.

How to Recycle Mercury Lamps in 8 Easy Steps
-See more about lamp recycling.

Mercury Pollution in the Northeast - A Guide for Policymakers - This policy guide has been prepared by the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA), New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), and Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). These three interstate organizations serve the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont in the areas of waste, water, and air, respectively.

Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) Analysis of Waste Dental Amalgam: (doc, pdf)

One Gram of Mercury Can Contaminate a Twenty Acre Lake: Provides a clarification of this commonly cited statistic: (doc, pdf)

Report to the Maine Legislature on Mercury Use in Button Cell Batteries: Provides a report prepared by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Survey of Thermostat Recycling Corporation (TRC) Wholesalers: (doc, pdf)

Summary of Research on Mercury Emissions from Municipal Landfills: (web, doc, pdf)

Indoor Air Mercury: (doc, pdf) Provides a report describing why mercury is a problem in indoor air, the sources of mercury in indoor air, guidelines for mercury exposure, and studies on indoor air mercury.

Review of the Thermostat Recycling Corporation Activities in the Northeast: (doc, pdf) Provides results of a phone survey of the electrical wholesale firms in the Northeast who participate in the Thermostat Recycling Corporation's (TRC) program to collect used mercury-containing thermostats.

Federal Facilities Case Studies: Provides case studies that represent the culmination of a cooperative effort of the Environmental Protection Agency New England (EPA NE), NEWMOA, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP), and four New England Federal Facilities to develop a methodology to assist Federal Facilities to identify and reduce uses of mercury.

Northeast States & Eastern Canadian Provinces Mercury Study, A Framework for Action
NESCAUM/NEWMOA/NEIWPCC. 1998. To obtain a copy of the report, contact the NEWMOA office.
Presents the results of an analysis of mercury emissions and deposition.

For more information about NEWMOA's mercury projects, contact Terri Goldberg at .