Mercury in Maine A Status Report
Report to the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources
February 2002
Executive Summary
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Please note: A correction has been made in the report. The last line on page 18 should read, "...160 facilities discharged about 10.2 pounds of..."
Introduction
This report serves two purposes. First, it updates the "Initial Evaluation and Recommendations on Mercury in Maine" (herein called the 1997 Mercury in Maine Report) submitted to the Maine Legislature in January 1998 as Appendix A to the 1997 Annual Report of the Maine Land and Water Resources Council.
Second, it addresses the mercury reporting requirements set forth in Section 6 of "An Act to Reduce the Release of Mercury into the Environment from Consumer Products" enacted in May 2000 as PL 1999, c. 779.
Section IV of this report parallels the format of the Strategies and Preliminary Action Plan in section IV(C) of the 1997 Mercury in Maine report. Specifically, this report restates the "Proposed Actions" under each of the ten strategies in the 1997 report, describes "Actions Taken" for the period 1998 to 2001, and sets forth "Future Actions" for 2002 and beyond.
Section II of this report briefly summarizes the effects of mercury on people and wildlife. Section III identifies the principal sources of mercury releases to the environment in Maine and elsewhere, and thus responds to the reporting requirements of PL 1999, c.779 that call for the Department to conduct an inventory of mercury releases into the environment and identify the sources of the releases, including natural sources.
Section V of this report addresses other reporting requirements of PL 1999, c. 779. In section 6 of that bill, the Legislature required the DEP to report by January 15, 2002 on the following:
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A summary of regional efforts to reduce mercury releases;
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An assessment of the feasibility of reducing mercury pollution from crematoriums; and
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An assessment of the economic impact of the ban on disposal of low-mercury lamps, including infrastructure development, training and education.
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