Massachusetts Medical Society Testifies in Support of Safer Alternatives for Mercury Products

Contact: Richard P. Gulla
rgulla@mms.org 
781-434-7101
pager: 877-820-9023

Waltham/Boston -- May 2, 2005 --The Massachusetts Medical Society today offered testimony before the Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture in support of House Bill 1392 and Senate Bill 554, “An Act Relative to Safer Alternatives for Mercury Containing Products.”

House Bill 1392 and Senate Bill 554 are identical bills that would take a comprehensive approach to reducing the dangers resulting from mercury, including safe collection, transportation, recycling, and disposal.

The legislation would also phase out the sale of mercury-added thermostats, instruments, and measuring devices, as well as mercury switches and relays. Environmental organizations estimate that these devices alone contain two-thirds of all of the mercury in products in the state. Other mercury-containing products would also be banned and replaced by safer alternatives.

In its written testimony, the Medical Society said that while mercury appears in many common products -- from medical devices to fluorescent lighting -- it also poses severe health risks to our citizens. Studies have convincingly shown that even very low doses of mercury result in impaired childhood neurobehavioral functioning, including problems with attention, verbal learning, vocabulary, and neuromotor function. The Society cited statistics from The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), which estimates that mercury exposure may cause neurological problems in 60,000 children born in the United States each year, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which estimates that 52,000 to 166,000 pregnant women consume mercury at or above safe levels. 

While the National Academy of Sciences estimates that as much as 80 percent of the potential mercury in the waste stream is preventable or recyclable, the Society said that mercury is extremely persistent in the environment and in the food chain once it is introduced. This legislation would directly and comprehensively address these concerns by (1) phasing out the sale or use of most mercury-added products; (2) prohibiting the disposal of mercury-containing waste products as solid waste; and (3) ensuring the proper collection, transportation, recycling and disposal of all mercury-containing waste products.

The Medical Society noted that adequate non-mercury substitutes are available for most of the products used, and that the bill would allow the DEP to make limited exceptions when necessary.    

The Medical Society’s complete testimony on the bill may be found at http://www.massmed.org/testimony05/mercury

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with some 18,300 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world’s leading medical journals; the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters covering 11 specialties; and AIDS Clinical Care. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information, visit http://www.massmed.org.