BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1415
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Alan S. Lowenthal, Chairman
2005-2006 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1415
AUTHOR: Pavley
AMENDED: March 31, 2005
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2005
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Bruce Jennings
SUBJECT : HAZARDOUS WASTE: MERCURY RELAYS &
SWITCHES
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2006, a person from
selling, offering to sell, or distributing for promotional
purposes, in this state, a mercury-added thermostat, unless
the mercury-added thermostat meets specified criteria.
2) Imposes specified penalties on violators of hazardous waste
control laws.
This bill :
1) Bans the sale and distribution of specified products
containing mercury (i.e., barometers, flow meters,
hydrometers, psychometers, manometers, pyrometers,
sphygmanometers, and thermometers).
2) Provides exemptions for mercury-added products required
under a federal law or federal contract or if the only
mercury-added component is a button cell battery.
3) Declares legislative findings.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, mercury is a
persistent, bioaccumulative toxin that can result in
developmental disorders, neural damage, as well as specific
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organ damage (i.e., liver, kidneys). Individuals can be
exposed to mercury by consuming mercury-contaminated fish,
by inhalation, or by dermal contact. Pregnant women, women
of childbearing age, and infants are especially vulnerable
to the damaging effects of mercury.
Many products contain mercury; when mercury is released from
these products it most typically accumulates in the food
chain and can be taken up by fish and wildlife. Due to its
propensity to bioaccumulate, mercury is of special concern,
especially in the context of its damaging effects on
health. The US EPA has determined that 630,000 children
are born annually in the US with unsafe blood levels of
mercury.
2) Mercury & Water Contamination . According to the California
Association of Sanitation Agencies, there are 142 water
bodies listed as impaired by mercury. The State Water
Resources Control Board is developing new mercury water
quality criteria that will likely impose significant new
requirements on publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).
3) Mercury Addressed by AB 1415 . Collectively, mercury in
switches, relays, measuring devices, and gastrointestinal
tubes utilize more mercury than is used to manufacture all
other mercury-containing products in the United States.
Cost-effective, non-mercury versions of these products are
reportedly readily available.
4) Other States' Policy on Mercury . The states of Maine and
Illinois recently banned the sale of products with
mercury-containing switches, relays, measuring devices, and
gastrointestinal tubes.
5) Opponent Arguments . The one opponent, Agilent
Technologies, states that since its products have a long
product life, are sold in lower volumes, as well as due to
RCRA laws and a self-initiated take-back program, there
should be an exemption for its products that contain only
minute levels of mercury. Agilent has proposed that the
author amend AB 1415 to allow for an exemption for the sale
of mercury components containing less than a milligram of
mercury.
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The problem with such an exemption, of course, is that it may
open an exemption process in which various products, each
containing only "minute amounts" may defeat California's
decades long efforts to eliminate mercury from its
environment. As noted in the public health and medical
literature, the bioaccumulation of minute amounts of
mercury continue to pose a substantial public health
threat, especially to fetuses, infants, and children.
Agilent does note in its letter of opposition that other
states' recent efforts to enact legislation to further
restrict the sale of mercury containing products is the use
of an exemption process. The author is working to identify
an avenue for addressing the issues raised in letters of
opposition.
6) Administration Support . The Department of Toxic Substances
Control on June 24th issued a formal letter of support for
AB 1415, noting that it will help to eliminate the largest
of the remaining sources of mercury pollution.
SOURCE : Sierra Club
SUPPORT : California Association of Sanitation Agencies,
California Committees Against Toxics,
California Environmental Rights Alliance,
California Safe Schools, Center for
Environmental Health, Californians Against
Waste, California Communities Against Toxics,
California Environmental Rights Alliance,
California Safe Schools, Center for
Environmental Health, Clean Water Action,
Children's Environmental Health Network, Del
Amo Action Committee, Department of Toxic
Substances Control, Environmental Defense,
Healthy Children Organizing Project, League of
Cities, National Environmental Trust, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Physicians for a
Social Responsibility (San Francisco Chapter),
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : AeA, Agilent Technologies, Philips Medical
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Systems