Russian River Watershed Association

			MERCURY POLLUTION PROTECTION PROGRAM Several waterbodies within the Russian River watershed have been identified as being impaired for mercury under the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) and there is some data to suggest that mercury is bioaccumulating in fish of the Russian River watershed. Therefore, it is essential that we develop a mercury pollution prevention plan, to help prevent further contamination of our watershed. Although there are several sources of mercury in the Russian River watershed including historic mining operations, air deposition, and industry, RRWA's Mercury Pollution Prevention program focuses on local citizens do their part to reduce mercury contamination with our watershed. Click on the links below for more information about mercury issues in our watershed and beyond. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) Mercury Thermometers Other Mercury-Containing Household Items Mercury at the Dentist’s Office Overview of Environmental Mercury Pollution Links to Additional Information
			Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)
			In June of 2008, RRWA ran the announcement at the right about CFLs in the Press Democrat. If you’re looking for more information about why CFLs need to be properly disposed of rather than thrown away, then you come to the right place! CFLs and other types of fluorescent bulbs contain trace amounts of mercury.If the bulbs are taken to designated disposal facilities, then this mercury can be productively reused and prevented from entering the environment. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. Some further questions that you might have about CFLs and mercury:
			Where Can I Take CFLs For Proper Disposal? Sonoma County CFL disposal: For CFL recycling locations in Sonoma County, please visit www.recyclenow.org or call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk Hotline 707-565-DESK (3375). Mendocino County CFL disposal: For CFL recycling locations in Mendocino County, please visit www.mendorecycle.org or call the Mendocino County Recycling Hotline at 707-468-9704. What should I do if I break a CFL? Don’t worry! Just follow these simple guidelines from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (clean-up info starts on page 2). If CFLs contain mercury are they really good for the environment? Because CFLs use relatively low amounts of electricity and last longer than incandescent light bulbs, their overall environmental impact is considered to be significantly lower than that of incandescent bulbs. This is especially true if the bulbs are properly disposed of. In 2007, the magazine Popular Mechanics looked into the overall “mercury footprint” of CFLs vs. incandescent light bulbs. Here’s what they had to say: About 50 percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. is generated by coal-fired power plants. When coal burns to produce electricity, mercury naturally contained in the coal releases into the air. In 2006, coal-fired power plants produced 1,971 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity, emitting 50.7 tons of mercury into the air—the equivalent amount of mercury contained in more than 9 billion CFLs (the bulbs emit zero mercury when in use or being handled). Approximately 0.0234 mg of mercury—plus carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide—releases into the air per 1 kwh of electricity that a coal-fired power plant generates. Over the 7500-hour average range of one CFL, then, a plant will emit 13.16 mg of mercury to sustain a 75-watt incandescent bulb but only 3.51 mg of mercury to sustain a 20-watt CFL (the lightning equivalent of a 75-watt traditional bulb). Even if the mercury contained in a CFL was directly released into the atmosphere, an incandescent would still contribute 4.65 more milligrams of mercury into the environment over its lifetime. (full article at: www.popularmechanics.com) Mercury Thermometers Proper Mercury Thermometer Disposal: Thermometers can contain more than 100 times the amount of mercury in a CFL. Because they contain significant amounts of mercury, it is important that mercury thermometers be properly disposed of. Mercury thermometers are generally glass thermometers with a silvery liquid inside. Even if your mercury thermometer functions properly, it is still a good idea to take it to an approved disposal location. For mercury thermometer disposal locations in Sonoma County, please visit www.recyclenow.org or call the Sonoma County Eco-Desk Hotline 707-565-DESK(3375). For mercury thermometer disposal locations locations in Mendocino County, please visit www.mendorecycle.org or call the Mendocino County Recycling Hotline at 707-468-9704. What to do if you break a mercury thermometer: If you break a mercury thermometer, follow these clean-up guidelines from the US EPA at www.epa.gov. 2007 Mercury Thermometer Exchange: In 2007, the Russian River Watershed Association (RRWA) made it easy to prevent mercury pollution by holding thermometer exchange events. Residents within the watershed brought in old, mercury thermometers and traded them in for a new digital thermometer! These events were sponsored in association with the Sonoma County Waste Management Association (SCWMA) and Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority (MSWMA) and were held in Sonoma County at four Community Toxics Collections from May through July 2007, and at regularly occurring HazMobile collections in Mendocino County. In addition to these events, the City of Santa Rosa also sponsored thermometer exchange events last spring. No future thermometer exchange are scheduled at this time. Other Mercury-Containing Household Items In addition to thermometers and fluorescent lamps, thermostats and some types of batteries are among the most common household products that contain mercury. While these products have many beneficial uses, mercury can be released into the environment during use or disposal of such products. Since these products contain mercury, you can’t throw them in the garbage, so be sure to recycle them by taking them to a proper hazardous waste pick up. See the Sonoma County Waste Management Authority’s website at www.recyclenow.org or the Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority’s website at www.mendorecycle.org for more information.
			Mercury at the Dentist's Office As shown in the figure to the right, dental offices are typically the single largest source of mercury in domestic wastewater. Mercury is a primary component in “silver” dental fillings. Wastewater treatment plants are designed to remove most contaminants, but they are not generally designed to remove mercury.
			In order to increase awareness about mercury pollution in the dental community, RRWA has created a fact sheet of best management practices to encourage dental offices to undertake proper disposal of dental waste in order to reduce mercury pollution, click here to download the fact sheet as a pdf. Overview of Environmental Mercury Pollution Mercury is a highly toxic environmental pollutant. While mercury occurs naturally in the environment, human activities, including coal burning, mining operations, and the use of mercury in consumer, medical, and dental products, have increased the amount of mercury in many parts of the environment including the atmosphere, lakes and streams. When elemental mercury is released into the environment, microorganisms convert it into methylmercury, a more toxic, organic form of mercury. It then enters the food chain when it is taken up by tiny aquatic plants and animals, which are eaten by larger fish, and those fish by even larger fish. During this process, known as bioaccumulation, methylmercury builds up in the larger fish, becoming more and more concentrated. Mercury continues to move up the food chain in this way, and as a result, methylmercury concentrations in large fish can be much higher than that of the surrounding water. Eating mercury-laden fish is the primary way that people are exposed to this toxic pollutant. Mercury consumption poses a very serious health threat as it can affects the central nervous system and can interfere with fetal development. As a result, fish consumption advisories due to methylmercury have been issued in 40 U.S. States, including California. Links to Additional Information To learn more about mercury pollution prevention, see the following web sites: U.S. EPA California Department of Toxic Substances control (DTSC)