|
New laws seek to ensure safe handling of mercury-containing bulbs and notify residents of pesticide spraying
June 22, 2009
AUGUSTA –Two pieces of legislation to increase environmental protection sponsored by State Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, were ceremonially signed today by Gov. John Baldacci. One bill will set up a permanent compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) recycling program in Maine, the first of its kind in the nation. The other bill will create a notification registry to inform people of aerial and air-carrier pesticide spraying in their area.
“Those whose activities or products create potential public health risks should also be expected to help create solutions,” said Berry. “These two bills once again assert Maine’s leadership in ensuring shared public and private responsibility for toxins reduction.”
The new compact fluorescent light bulb recycling program will be the first program of its kind in the United States. Currently, CFLs can be dropped off at some Maine hardware stores. A few municipal transfer stations also accept the bulbs, but most charge a disposal fee and have low participation. Efficiency Maine currently pays for the costs of the recycling program at hardware stores using ratepayer dollars, but bill proponents say this takes attention away from its sole charge of lowering Mainers’ electricity bills.
“Many Mainers don’t know that these light bulbs contain mercury and should not be discarded in the trash,” Berry said. “It is estimated that only 2 percent of CFLs are currently recycled, so most of these bulbs are going into the trash where they can create small mercury hazards in the home and lead to mercury emissions down the road, when the mercury escapes into the environment at incinerators and landfills.”
The new law, L.D. 973, "An Act To Provide for the Safe Collection and Recycling of Mercury-containing Lighting," requires the manufacturers of the bulbs to be charged with picking up the cost of safe disposal. The idea builds on Maine’s successful electronic waste, cell phone and mercury auto-switch and mercury thermostat recycling laws, and directs producers to finance the collection and recycling program. Maine’s e-waste law has become a national model, with 17 states following Maine’s lead.
The legislation also calls for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2010 on the recycling of mercury-added lamps from businesses, mainly the tube shaped fluorescent lights. The Legislature would then have an opportunity to review the report and department recommendations and submit legislation to address the issues.
In addition, it authorizes Maine to adopt mercury content standards established for lamps sold in the European Union, a standard used in California and soon to be used in Vermont. Maine has already banned a number of products that contain mercury, which is a known toxin to people and the environment.
“With this bill, we help reduce two of the greatest contributors to mercury in our environment,” said Matt Prindiville, toxics policy coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “The first is excessive consumption of electricity, which is often produced by mercury-emitting coal plants upwind of Maine. The second is the improper disposal and incineration of mercury-containing bulbs.” The use of CFLs has risen dramatically in the last five years, and the United States is expected to phase out most incandescent bulb use by 2014. The average lifespan of a CFL is five years.
A second bill, L.D. 1293, "An Act To Require Citizen Notification of Pesticide Applications Using Aerial Spray or Air-carrier Application Equipment," was also signed. The legislation will create a notification registry to inform people of aerial and air-carrier pesticide spraying in their area. The new law asks the Department of Agriculture and Board of Pesticides Control to establish a registry of citizens desiring additional information when pesticides are being applied using aircraft or air-carrier equipment. In addition, land managers must notify abutters at least once every three years of their right to be included on the registry, and provide information on the chemicals being used. Those included on the registry will receive advance notice before each application of pesticides on neighboring land.
According to Russell Libby of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners’ Association, the new law will mean that Maine has the most comprehensive pre-spray notification system in the country, building on models from California, Texas, and New Hampshire, and will have one of the strongest registry systems for people who want to receive notification of specific pesticide applications. Notification includes both aerial and aerial blast sprayers, which create the biggest risk of “drift” due to chemical compounds volatizing rather than settling on the target area.
“Maine farm and nonfarm communities agree on this issue,” Berry said. “Pesticide drift is a serious public health issue for many Mainers. It is also an economic challenge for organic growers, whose crops can be tainted. This bill represents a strong step forward to let Mainers live, breathe, work and farm side by side.”
Berry’s two toxics-reduction bills were among six “priority” bills for the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition in the past legislative session. The Coalition is made up of 27 environmental, conservation and public health organizations in Maine, representing over 100,000 members.
Both laws will take effect in September.
Contact:
Rep. Seth Berry, 737-4149
Amy Watson Saxton, legislative aide, 287-1430
Kyle Leighton, communications director, 287-1433