Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB1213
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Full Text of SB1213  97th General Assembly

SB1213enr 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
SB1213 EnrolledLRB097 02727 JDS 42748 b

1    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3.284 and 22.23b as follows:
 
6    (415 ILCS 5/3.284)
7    Sec. 3.284. Mercury switch. "Mercury switch" means a
8product or device, containing mercury added during its
9manufacture, that opens or closes an electrical circuit or gas
10valve, or makes, breaks, or changes the connection in an
11electrical circuit, including, but not limited to, mercury
12float switches actuated by rising or falling liquid levels,
13mercury tilt switches actuated by a change in the switch
14position, mercury pressure switches actuated by a change in
15pressure, mercury temperature switches actuated by a change in
16temperature, and mercury flame sensors.
17(Source: P.A. 93-964, eff. 8-20-04.)
 
18    (415 ILCS 5/22.23b)
19    Sec. 22.23b. Mercury and mercury-added products.
20    (a) Beginning July 1, 2005, no person shall purchase or
21accept, for use in a primary or secondary school classroom,
22bulk elemental mercury, chemicals containing mercury

 

 

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1compounds, or instructional equipment or materials containing
2mercury added during their manufacture. This subsection (a)
3does not apply to: (i) other products containing mercury added
4during their manufacture that are used in schools and (ii)
5measuring devices used as teaching aids, including, but not
6limited to, barometers, manometers, and thermometers, if no
7adequate mercury-free substitute exists.
8    (b) Beginning July 1, 2007, no person shall sell, offer to
9sell, distribute, or offer to distribute in this State a
10mercury switch or mercury relay individually or as a product
11component. For a product that contains one or more mercury
12switches or mercury relays as a component, this subsection (b)
13is applicable to each component part or parts and not the
14entire product. This subsection (b) does not apply to the
15following:
16        (1) Mercury switches and mercury relays used in medical
17    diagnostic equipment regulated under the federal Food,
18    Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
19        (2) Mercury switches and mercury relays used at
20    electric generating facilities.
21        (3) Mercury switches in thermostats used to sense and
22    control room temperature.
23        (4) Mercury switches and mercury relays required to be
24    used under federal law or federal contract specifications.
25        (5) A mercury switch or mercury relay used to replace a
26    mercury switch or mercury relay that is a component in a

 

 

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1    larger product in use before prior to July 1, 2007, and one
2    of the following applies:
3            (A) The larger product is used in manufacturing; or
4            (B) The mercury switch or mercury relay is
5        integrated and not physically separate from other
6        components of the larger product.
7    (c) The manufacturer of a mercury switch or mercury relay,
8or a scientific instrument or piece of instructional equipment
9containing mercury added during its manufacture, may apply to
10the Agency for an exemption from the provisions of subsection
11(a) or (b) of this Section for one or more specific uses of the
12switch, relay, instrument, or piece of equipment by filing a
13written petition with the Agency. The Agency may grant an
14exemption, with or without conditions, if the manufacturer
15demonstrates the following:
16        (1) A convenient and widely available system exists for
17    the proper collection, transportation, and processing of
18    the switch, relay, instrument, or piece of equipment at the
19    end of its useful life; and
20        (2) The specific use or uses of the switch, relay,
21    instrument, or piece of equipment provides a net benefit to
22    the environment, public health, or public safety when
23    compared to available nonmercury alternatives.
24    Before approving any exemption under this subsection (c)
25the Agency must consult with other states to promote
26consistency in the regulation of products containing mercury

 

 

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1added during their manufacture. Exemptions shall be granted for
2a period of 5 years. The manufacturer may request renewals of
3the exemption for additional 5-year periods by filing
4additional written petitions with the Agency. The Agency may
5renew an exemption if the manufacturer demonstrates that the
6criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
7(c) continue to be satisfied. All petitions for an exemption or
8exemption renewal shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the
9Agency.
10    The Agency must adopt rules for processing petitions
11submitted pursuant to this subsection (c). The rules shall
12include, but shall not be limited to, provisions allowing for
13the submission of written public comments on the petitions.
14    (d) No later than January 1, 2005, the Agency must submit
15to the Governor and the General Assembly a report that includes
16the following:
17        (1) An evaluation of programs to reduce and recycle
18    mercury from mercury thermostats and mercury vehicle
19    components; and
20        (2) Recommendations for altering the programs to make
21    them more effective.
22    In preparing the report the Agency may seek information
23from and consult with, businesses, trade associations,
24environmental organizations, and other government agencies.
25    (e) Mercury switches and mercury relays, and scientific
26instruments and instructional equipment containing mercury

 

 

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1added during their manufacture, are hereby designated as
2categories of universal waste subject to the streamlined
3hazardous waste rules set forth in Title 35 of the Illinois
4Administrative Code, Subtitle G, Chapter I, Subchapter c, Part
5733 ("Part 733"). Within 60 days of the effective date of this
6amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Agency shall
7propose, and within 180 days of receipt of the Agency's
8proposal the Board shall adopt, rules that reflect this
9designation and that prescribe procedures and standards for the
10management of such items as universal waste.
11    If the United States Environmental Protection Agency
12adopts streamlined hazardous waste regulations pertaining to
13the management of mercury switches or mercury relays, or
14scientific instruments or instructional equipment containing
15mercury added during their manufacture, or otherwise exempts
16such items from regulation as hazardous waste, the Board shall
17adopt equivalent rules in accordance with Section 7.2 of this
18Act within 180 days of adoption of the federal regulations. The
19equivalent Board rules may serve as an alternative to the rules
20adopted under subsection (1) of this subsection (e).
21    (f) Beginning July 1, 2008, no person shall install, sell,
22offer to sell, distribute, or offer to distribute a mercury
23thermostat in this State. For purposes of this subsection (f),
24"mercury thermostat" means a product or device that uses a
25mercury switch to sense and control room temperature through
26communication with heating, ventilating, or air conditioning

 

 

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1equipment. "Mercury thermostat" includes thermostats used to
2sense and control room temperature in residential, commercial,
3industrial, and other buildings, but does not include
4thermostats used to sense and control temperature as a part of
5a manufacturing or industrial process.
6(Source: P.A. 95-452, eff. 8-27-07.)
 
7    Section 10. The Mercury Switch Removal Act is amended by
8changing Section 15 as follows:
 
9    (415 ILCS 97/15)
10    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2017)
11    Sec. 15. Mercury switch collection programs.
12    (a) Within 60 days of the effective date of this Act,
13manufacturers of vehicles in Illinois that contain mercury
14switches must begin to implement a mercury switch collection
15program that facilitates the removal of mercury switches from
16end-of-life vehicles before prior to the vehicles are being
17flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for
18recycling and to collect and properly manage mercury switches
19in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and
20regulations adopted thereunder. In order to ensure that the
21mercury switches are removed and collected in a safe and
22consistent manner, manufacturers must, to the extent
23practicable, use the currently available end-of-life vehicle
24recycling infrastructure. The collection program must be

 

 

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1designed to achieve capture rates of not less than (i) 35% for
2the period of July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007; (ii) 50% for
3the period of July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; and (iii)
470% for the period of July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009 and
5for each subsequent period of July 1 through June 30. At a
6minimum, the collection program must:
7        (1) Develop and provide educational materials that
8    include guidance as to which vehicles may contain mercury
9    switches and procedures for locating and removing mercury
10    switches. The materials may include, but are not limited
11    to, brochures, fact sheets, and videos.
12        (2) Conduct outreach activities to encourage vehicle
13    recyclers and vehicle crushers to participate in the
14    mercury switch collection program. The activities may
15    include, but are not limited to, direct mailings,
16    workshops, and site visits.
17        (3) Provide storage containers to participating
18    vehicle recyclers and vehicle crushers for mercury
19    switches removed under the program.
20        (4) Provide a collection and transportation system to
21    periodically collect and replace filled storage containers
22    from vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal
23    recyclers, either upon notification that a storage
24    container is full or on a schedule predetermined by the
25    manufacturers.
26        (5) Establish an entity that will serve as a point of

 

 

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1    contact for the collection program and that will establish,
2    implement, and oversee the collection program on behalf of
3    the manufacturers.
4        (6) Track participation in the collection program and
5    the progress of mercury switch removals and collections.
6    (b) Within 90 days of the effective date of this Act,
7manufacturers of vehicles in Illinois that contain mercury
8switches must submit to the Agency an implementation plan that
9describes how the collection program under subsection (a) of
10this Section will be carried out for the duration of the
11program and how the program will achieve the capture rates set
12forth in subsection (a) of this Section. At a minimum, the
13implementation plan must:
14        (A) Identify the educational materials that will
15    assist vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap
16    metal processors in identifying, removing, and properly
17    managing mercury switches removed from end-of-life
18    vehicles.
19        (B) Describe the outreach program that will be
20    undertaken to encourage vehicle recyclers and vehicle
21    crushers to participate in the mercury switch collection
22    program.
23        (C) Describe how the manufacturers will ensure that
24    mercury switches removed from end-of-life vehicles are
25    managed in accordance with the Illinois Environmental
26    Protection Act and regulations adopted thereunder.

 

 

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1        (D) Describe how the manufacturers will collect and
2    document the information required in the quarterly reports
3    submitted pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section.
4        (E) Describe how the collection program will be
5    financed and implemented.
6        (F) Identify the manufacturer's address to which the
7    Agency should send the notice required under subsection (f)
8    of this Section.
9    The Agency shall review the collection program plans it
10receives for completeness and shall notify the manufacturer in
11writing if a plan is incomplete. Within 30 days after receiving
12a notification of incompleteness from the Agency the
13manufacturer shall submit to the Agency a plan that contains
14all of the required information.
15    (c) The Agency must provide assistance to manufacturers in
16their implementation of the collection program required under
17this Section. The assistance shall include providing
18manufacturers with information about businesses likely to be
19engaged in vehicle recycling or vehicle crushing, conducting
20site visits to promote participation in the collection program,
21and assisting with the scheduling, locating, and staffing of
22workshops conducted to encourage vehicle recyclers and vehicle
23crushers to participate in the collection program.
24    (d) Manufacturers subject to the collection program
25requirements of this Section shall provide, to the extent
26practicable, the opportunity for trade associations of vehicle

 

 

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1recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers to be
2involved in the delivery and dissemination of educational
3materials regarding the identification, removal, collection,
4and proper management of mercury switches in end-of-life
5vehicles.
6    (e) (Blank). For the calendar quarter ending March 31,
72007, and for each calendar quarter thereafter, not later than
845 days following the close of the calendar quarter
9manufacturers subject to the collection program requirements
10of this Section must submit to the Agency a quarterly report
11that contains the following information: (i) the number of
12vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers
13participating in the manufacturer's collection program during
14the reported quarter, (ii) the number of mercury switches
15removed from end-of-life vehicles during the reported quarter
16by the vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal
17recyclers participating in the program, and (iii) the amount of
18mercury collected and recycled through the manufacturer's
19collection program during the reported calendar quarter.
20    (f) If the reports required under this Act indicate that
21the capture rates set forth in subsection (a) of this Section
22for the period of July 1, 2007, though June 30, 2008, or for
23any subsequent period have not been met the Agency shall
24provide notice that the capture rate was not met; provided,
25however, that the Agency is not required to provide notice if
26it determines that the capture rate was not met due to a force

 

 

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1majeure. The Agency shall provide the notice by posting a
2statement on its website and by sending a written notice via
3certified mail to the manufacturers subject to the collection
4program requirement of this Section at the addresses provided
5in the manufacturers' collection plans. Once the Agency
6provides notice pursuant to this subsection (f) it is not
7required to provide notice in subsequent periods in which the
8capture rate is not met.
9    (g) Beginning 30 days after the Agency first provides
10notice pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, the
11following shall apply:
12        (1) Vehicle recyclers must remove all mercury switches
13    from each end-of-life vehicle before vehicles prior to
14    delivering the vehicle vehicles to an on-site or off-site
15    vehicle crusher or to a scrap metal recycler, provided that
16    a vehicle recycler is not required to remove a mercury
17    switch that is inaccessible due to significant damage to
18    the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury switch that
19    occurred before prior to the vehicle recycler's receipt of
20    the vehicle in which case the damage must be noted in the
21    records the vehicle recycler is required to maintain under
22    subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c) of this Act.
23        (2) No vehicle recycler, vehicle crusher, or scrap
24    metal recycler shall flatten, crush, or otherwise process
25    an end-of-life vehicle for recycling unless all mercury
26    switches have been removed from the vehicle, provided that

 

 

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1    a mercury switch that is inaccessible due to significant
2    damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury
3    switch that occurred before prior to the vehicle
4    recycler's, or the vehicle crusher's, or scrap metal
5    recycler's receipt of the vehicle is not required to be
6    removed. The damage must be noted in the records the
7    vehicle recycler or vehicle crusher is required to maintain
8    under subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c) of this
9    Act.
10        (3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (2) of this
11    subsection (g) subsection (g)(1) of this Section, a scrap
12    metal recycler may agree to accept an end-of-life vehicle
13    that contains one or more mercury switches and that has not
14    been flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed
15    for recycling provided the scrap metal recycler removes all
16    mercury switches from the vehicle before the vehicle is
17    flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for
18    recycling. Scrap metal recyclers are not required to remove
19    a mercury switch that is inaccessible due to significant
20    damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury
21    switch that occurred before prior to the scrap metal
22    recycler's receipt of the vehicle. The damage must be noted
23    in the records the scrap metal recycler is required to
24    maintain under subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c)
25    of this Act.
26        (4) Manufacturers subject to the collection program

 

 

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1    requirements of this Section must provide to vehicle
2    recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers the
3    following compensation for all mercury switches removed
4    from end-of-life vehicles on or after the date of the
5    notice: $2.00 for each mercury switch removed by the
6    vehicle recycler, vehicle crusher, or the scrap metal
7    recycler, the costs of the containers in which the mercury
8    switches are collected, and the costs of packaging and
9    transporting the mercury switches off-site. Payment of
10    this compensation must be provided in a prompt manner.
11    (h) In meeting the requirements of this Section
12manufacturers may work individually or as part of a group of 2
13or more manufacturers.
14(Source: P.A. 94-732, eff. 4-24-06.)
 
15    Section 15. The Mercury-added Product Prohibition Act is
16amended by changing Section 27 as follows:
 
17    (410 ILCS 46/27)
18    Sec. 27. Sale and distribution of certain mercury-added
19products prohibited.
20    (a) On and after July 1, 2008, no person shall sell, offer
21to sell, or distribute the following mercury-added products in
22this State:
23        (1) barometers;
24        (2) esophageal dilators, bougie tubes, or

 

 

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1    gastrointestinal tubes;
2        (3) flow meters;
3        (4) hydrometers;
4        (5) hygrometers;
5        (6) manometers;
6        (7) pyrometers;
7        (8) sphygmomanometers;
8        (9) thermometers; or
9        (10) psychrometers; .
10        (11) pressure transducers;
11        (12) rings;
12        (13) seals; or
13        (14) sensors.
14    (b) This Section does not apply to the sale of a
15mercury-added product listed in paragraphs (1) through (14)
16(10) of subsection (a) if use of the product is a federal
17requirement or if the only mercury-added component in the
18product is a button cell battery.
19    (c) This Section does not apply to the sale of a
20mercury-added product listed in paragraphs (1) through (14)
21(10) of subsection (a) for which an exemption is obtained under
22this subsection (c). The manufacturer of the product may apply
23for an exemption for one or more uses of the product by filing
24a written petition with the Agency. The Agency may grant an
25exemption, with or without conditions, if the manufacturer
26demonstrates the following:

 

 

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1        (1) a system exists for the proper collection,
2    transportation, and processing of the product at the end of
3    its useful life; and
4        (2) one of the following applies:
5            (i) use of the product provides a net benefit to
6        the environment, public health, or public safety when
7        compared to available nonmercury alternatives; or
8            (ii) technically feasible nonmercury alternatives
9        are not available at comparable cost.
10    Before Prior to approving an exemption, the Agency may
11consult with other states to promote consistency in the
12regulation of the product for which the exemption is requested.
13The Agency may also publish notice of its receipt of petitions
14for exemptions on its website and consider public comments
15submitted in response to the petitions. Exemptions shall be
16granted for a term of 5 years and may be renewed for additional
175-year terms upon written application by the manufacturer if
18the manufacturer demonstrates that the criteria of this
19subsection (c) and the conditions of the product's original
20exemption approval continue to be met. All petitions for
21exemptions and exemption renewals shall be submitted on forms
22prescribed by the Agency.
23(Source: P.A. 95-87, eff. 8-13-07.)
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July
251, 2012.