NJ Governor Signs Mercury Reducing Bill

New Jersey’s acting Governor Richard Codey signed A2482, legislation that aims to reduce in-state mercury emissions by establishing a program to remove mercury switches from vehicles prior to melting them.

This program addresses one of the state’s largest remaining sources of mercury contamination.

The bill requires all scrap yards to remove mercury switches from vehicles before sending the metal to iron and steel mills, where the mercury would otherwise be released into the air when the vehicles are melted down.

New Jersey joins Maine and Arkansas to become only the third state to have mandatory collection and recovery programs for mercury switches.

The bill signing took place at U.S. Pipe Company in Burlington City, one of the state’s oldest iron and steel melters. 

In addition to a number of assemblymen and state senators sponsoring the bill, A2482 received significant support from a coalition of business leaders, environmental groups, public health advocates, and fishing groups.

Under the legislation, vehicle recyclers or scrap yards will receive a minimum of $2 from major auto manufacturers for each switch they remove. Auto manufacturers also are responsible for establishing a program for the safe final disposal of the switches.

It is estimated that about 500,000 vehicles scrapped each year in the state may contain as much as 1000 pounds of mercury, much of which is likely to be released to the environment when shredded vehicles are melted.

Auto manufacturers halted the use of mercury switches in the United States in 2003.

Last year, New Jersey adopted some of the most comprehensive regulations in the nation for limiting mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, iron and steel melters, and municipal solid waste incinerators. Those rules will reduce in-state mercury emissions by over 1,500 pounds annually.