The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday a new recovery initiative, The National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program, that will help cut mercury air emissions by up to 75 tons over the next 15 years.
Under the program, automobile dismantlers at scrap recycling facilities will remove mercury-containing light switches from scrap vehicles prior to the vehicles being flattened, shredded and melted to make new steel. The program will also provide a financial incentive for those who remove mercury switches.
In 2002, the U.S. automobile industry ceased using mercury-containing light switches, but there are still an estimated 67.5 million switches currently in use in older vehicles and available for recovery.
Every year, the steel industry recycles more than 14 million tons of steel from scrap vehicles, the equivalent of nearly 13.5 million new automobiles, making vehicles the most recycled consumer product and the steel industry one of the largest consumers of recycled materials in the world.
Together with existing state mercury switch recovery efforts, the program will significantly reduce mercury air emissions from the furnaces used in steel making -- the fourth leading source in the U.S. after coal-fired utility boilers, industrial boilers and gold mining.
The National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program is the result of a two-year collaborative effort involving EPA, the End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corporation, the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Steel Manufacturers Association, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the Automotive Recyclers Association, Environmental Defense, the Ecology Center (Ann Arbor), and representatives of the Environmental Council of the States.