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Guide for Appliance Recyclers June 2004 <br />0 INTRODUCTION <br />What is mercury, and why should 1 care about it? <br />Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is poisonous and can accumulate in the <br />tissues of animals and people, causing birth defects, nervous disorders, permanent <br />brain damage, and even death through prolonged exposure. Mercury's unique <br />properties include the ability to exist as a liquid at room temperature, and for decades its <br />unique properties have made mercury useful in a variety of consumer electronic devices <br />and products. <br />About two-thirds of the mercury released to the environment comes from man-made <br />sources, such as spills, emissions from coal -burning plants, or the incineration or land <br />filling of mercury -containing products. Mercury evaporates at room temperature and <br />even more so when heated. After it enters the atmosphere, mercury can precipitate to <br />the ground with rain and snow, which may potentially enter lakes, rivers, and <br />watersheds. Once mercury reaches a waterway, bacteria convert some of it to methyl <br />mercury, which is highly toxic and very persistent. Because mercury tends to <br />accumulate in the tissues of animals, animals that are higher up the food chain, such as <br />predatory fish, usually have the highest concentrations of mercury in their tissues. <br />People can be exposed to harmful levels of mercury through inhalation or skin contact, <br />but the primary route of exposure for most people today is eating mercury -contaminated <br />fish. The concentration of mercury absorbed from regular consumption of affected fish <br />can impair the nervous system and other organs, especially in a developing fetus and a <br />young child. Dangerously high concentrations of mercury have been detected in water <br />bodies throughout California. You may have heard warnings for people to avoid eating <br />certain species and sizes of fish because they contain mercury. <br />Because of mercury's distinctive ability to reliably conduct electricity under varied <br />temperature and moisture conditions, it has been used in electronic switches or sensors <br />in a variety of major appliances. Scrap metal recyclers who handle discarded <br />appliances represent the last line of defense against this mercury potentially entering <br />2 <br />