SB2551sam001 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Mattie Hunter

Filed: 3/22/2004

09300SB2551sam001 LRB093 20824 RAS 48913 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2551

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2551 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Mercury-Containing Products Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds:

(1) That mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause long-lasting health problems;

(2) That high mercury levels in our State's waterways have forced officials to issue advisories warning certain people to restrict eating predator fish caught from lakes and streams;

(3) That mercury can be found in thousands of products and applications;

(4) That mercury from consumer products may make its way into waterways when discharged down the drain, incinerated, or landfilled;

(5) That accidental mercury spills, breakages, and releases have occurred at schools throughout the country and that these spills have proven costly to clean up and have exposed students, teachers, and administrators to potentially harmful mercury emissions; and

(6) That in some cases, reduction or removal of mercury-containing products from the waste stream prior to disposal can be a cost-effective way to reduce mercury from waste management or treatment facilities.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

"Manufacturer" includes any person that produces a mercury-added product or an importer or domestic distributor of a mercury-added product produced in a foreign country. In the case of a multicomponent product containing mercury, the manufacturer is the last manufacturer to produce or assemble the product. If the mercury-added product is produced in a foreign country, then the manufacturer is the first importer or domestic distributor of that product.

"Mercury-added product" means any of the following items if it contains mercury added during manufacture:

(A) A switch or other device, individually or as part of another product; used to measure, control, or regulate gas, other fluids, or electricity;

(B) A scientific instrument or instructional equipment; and

(C) An electric relay or other electrical device. For the purposes of this Act, "mercury-added product" does not include any formulated mercury-added products, including, but not limited to, pharmaceutical products, animal vaccines, biologics, and reagents.

"Mercury relay" means a mercury-added product or device that opens or closes electrical contacts to effect the operation of other devices in the same or another electrical circuit. "Mercury relay" includes mercury displacement relays, mercury wetted reed relays, and mercury contact relays.

"Mercury switch" means a mercury-added product or device that opens or closes an electrical circuit or gas valve, including mercury float switches actuated by rising or falling liquid levels, mercury tilt switches actuated by a change in the switch position, mercury pressure switches actuated by a change in pressure, mercury temperature switches actuated by a change in temperature, and mercury flame sensors. "Mercury switch" does not include a mercury-added thermostat or switch used in medical diagnostic equipment regulated under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

"Motor vehicle component" means a mercury-added product that is a component in a motor vehicle, including, but not limited to, a mercury headlamp and a mercury light switch.

"Mercury thermostat" means a mercury-added product commonly used to sense and, through electrical communication with heating, cooling, or ventilation equipment, control room temperature.

"Person" includes an individual, a firm, an association, a partnership, a corporation, a governmental entity, an organization, a joint venture, and any other legal entity.

Section 15. Sales and use restrictions.

(a) Beginning July 1, 2005, a school may not purchase, for use in a primary or secondary classroom, bulk elemental mercury, chemicals containing mercury compounds, or mercury-added instructional equipment and materials, except mercury-added measuring devices and thermometers for which no adequate substitute exists for use as teaching aids. Other mercury-added products that are used by schools are not subject to this prohibition.

(b) Beginning July 1, 2007, a person may not sell or distribute or offer to sell or distribute a mercury switch or mercury relay individually or as a product component. This prohibition does not apply if the switch or relay is used to replace a switch or relay that is a component in a larger product in use prior to July 1, 2007, and one of the following applies:

(1) the larger product is used in manufacturing; or

(2) the switch or relay is integrated and not physically separate from other components of the larger product.

This subsection (b) does not apply to the sale of a mercury switch or mercury relay if use of the switch or relay is required under federal law or federal contract specifications. For a product that contains one or more mercury-added products subject to this Act, this Section is applicable to each component part or parts, and not to the entire product.

Section 20. Exemptions.

(a) A manufacturer of a mercury-added product subject to this Act may apply to the Agency on or before July 1, 2006 for an exemption from the provisions of this Act for one or more specific uses of a mercury-added product by filing a written petition with the Agency. The Agency may grant an exemption with or without conditions upon finding that:

(1) The manufacturer has demonstrated that a convenient and widely available system exists for the proper collection, transportation, and processing of the mercury-added product at the end of its useful life; and

(2) The specific use or uses of the mercury-added product provides a net benefit to the environment, public health, or public safety when compared to available nonmercury alternatives.

(b) Before approving any exemption under this Act, the Agency must consult with other states and regional organizations to promote consistency in the regulation of mercury-added products. Exemptions may be granted for a term not to exceed 5 years and may be renewed upon written application if the Agency finds that the mercury-containing product continues to meet the criteria for the original approval of the exemption. The Agency must adopt rules for processing exemption applications. These rules must provide for public participation.

Section 25. Universal waste rules. On or before July 1, 2006, the Board must modify its rules governing universal hazardous waste as appropriate to promote the recycling, recovery, and proper management of elemental mercury and mercury-added products on a statewide basis.

Section 30. Report. The Agency must submit a report by January 1, 2005, to the Governor and members of the General Assembly. The report must include:

(A) An evaluation of programs to reduce and recycle mercury from mercury thermostats and mercury vehicle components; and

(B) Recommendations for altering the programs to make them more effective. In preparing the report, the Agency may seek information from and consult with businesses, trade associations, environmental organizations, and other government agencies.

Section 40. Penalties. A violation of this Act is punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation in the case of a first violation. Repeat violations are liable for a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each repeat violation.

Section 90. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by changing Section 22.28a as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/22.28a)

Sec. 22.28a. White goods and end-of-life motor vehicles handled by scrap dealership, or junkyard, or vehicle recycler.

(a) No owner, operator, agent, or employee of a junkyard or scrap dealership may knowingly shred, scrap, dismantle, recycle, incinerate, handle, store, or otherwise manage any white good that contains any white good components in violation of this Act or any other applicable State or federal law. Beginning January 1, 2006, no vehicle recycler may knowingly shred, scrap, dismantle, recycle, incinerate, handle, store, or otherwise manage any end-of-life motor vehicle that contains any mercury light switches or mercury headlamps in violation of this Act or any other applicable State or federal law.

(b) For the purposes of this Section:

(1) The , the terms "white goods" and "white goods components" have the same meaning as in Section 22.28.

(2) "Vehicle recycler" means any owner, operator, agent, or employee of a business engaged in the business of acquiring, dismantling, or crushing 6 or more motor vehicles in a calendar year for the primary purpose of resale of their parts or materials.

(3) "end-of-life motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle that is sold, given, or otherwise conveyed to a motor vehicle crusher, recycler, or scrap recycling facility for the purposes of recycling.

(4) "Mercury light switch" means a mercury switch used for the purpose of turning a light bulb or lamp on and off.

(5) "Mercury headlamp" means a mercury-added lamp that is mounted on the front of a motor vehicle to illuminate the roadway.

(Source: P.A. 92-447, eff. 8-21-01.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".