County and Pollution Prevention Coalition to Sponsor Free Thermometer Exchange

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' ~ JOM S Eric R From: ! MOSKOVITZ Mike Sen#: ~ Tuesday, March 06, 2001 11:19 AM ?ubject: ! news -free therm March' 6, 2001 MEbI~ CONTACTS O LY: Merv ry pollution exp its -Cary Kerst, Industrial Source Control Supervisor, 682-8615 or Bill Hamann, Senior Envronmental Services Technician, 726-3693 Thermometer exchan a program -Jeff Bishop, Special Waste Analyst, 682-3828 or Larry Gibbs, Special Waste Analyst, 682-3$99 County and Poll tion Prevention Coalition to sponsor free thermometer exchange Beginning this wee ,Lane County residents who own mercury fever thermometers may bring them to the county's Household Hazardous aste Collection Center in Eugene and receive a free digital thermometer in exchange. The center is at GI nwood Central Receiving Station, 3100 E. 17th Ave. Appointments are needed and can be made by calling 682-4120. The county's Wast Management Division bought 2,500 digital thermometers to help promote awareness of mercury hazards and safe disp sal of items containing mercury. Mercury, which is ometimes called quicksilver, is a silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temp$rature and used n thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pegti~ides. If a fever t ermometer has a silver indicator line, it is most likely filled with mercury. If it has a red line, it is `filled with alcohol and t ere is no need to treat it as a hazardous waste. ~ 11~embers of the P Ilution Prevention Coalition are sharing costs of the exchange program and contributing grant mo'~n~y. Members incl 'de Lane County, city of Springfield, Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority, Eugene Water and Elect~ic Board, Springf~ id Utility Board, Department of Environmental Quality, city of Eugene, The Energy Outlet and Metropolitan Wastewa er Management Commission. "one fever thermo eter contains enough mercury to contaminate all the fish in a 20-acre lake," said Jeff Bishop, a specijal waste analyst r the county's Waste Management Division. "In our area, Dorena and Cottage Grove reservoirs and the Willamette Riv r already have fish advisories because of mercury contamination." In September 199 ,Governor John Kitzhaber signed an executive order to eliminate persistent bioaccumulative toxic pollutants such as me ury. In response to the order, the Oregon Environmental Council, anon-profit statewide environmental group, I unched the Mercury Solution Team. The Solution Team is made up of representatives from many leading industries, sta and local agencies, and environmental organizations. Cary Kerst, the cit of Eugene's Industrial Source Control Supervisor and a member of the Pollution Prevention Caalftion, says a com on way people are exposed to mercury is by eating contaminated fish. I~lercury can vapo~ize when exposed to air or be discharged into wastewater or stormwater when mercury-containing products such as they ometers or fluorescent tubes are broken. In water, mercury bioaccumulates in the food chain. There can be many ti es more mercury in a fish than in the surrounding water, Kerst said. Mercury interferes with the centval nervous syste and has been linked to birth defects and learning disabilities. A second location where people can exchange mercury thermometers for digital ones is at the upcoming Lane County ime and Garden Shpw scheduled March 10-11 at the Lane Events and Sports Center at the county Fairgrounds. The Pollution Prevention Coalition will offer the new thermometers at their home show display booth. 1