Mercury in Recycled Steel
  • Comes from recycled automobiles made in the United States by Ford, GM and Chrysler prior to 2002.
  • These vehicles may have hood and trunk switches containing mercury that turn on convenience lights.
  • Other vehicle manufacturers stopped using the switches in the early 1990s.
  • When the vehicle is shredded the switch is released into the scrap metal.
  • The steel is recycled and the mercury is vaporized into the atmosphere.
  • The switch must be removed before the vehicle is shredded or crushed.

States ask Ford to replace mercury switches to protect environment

By Michael Gormley / Associated Press July 2, 2001    

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Top state attorneys from around the country asked Ford Motor Co. Monday to replace light switches containing mercury during the current recall of defective tires.  Ford has no plans to comply with the states' attorneys general request, but the company is continuing to phase out its use of the mercury switches, said Ford spokeswoman Robyn Schultz.  This is the final year the switches will be installed, and Ford has encouraged salvage operations and other recyclers to remove the switches before cars are destroyed, Schultz said. She said Monday there was no plan to remove the switches during the recall.

The amount of mercury in the switches of just four cars is enough to contaminate a 17-acre lake, said a spokesman for New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The mercury is released, potentially into ground water, when cars are crushed or burned in recycling.  "As part of its current recall of millions of vehicles, the company could quickly and easily replace hood and trunk light switches that pose a significant environmental hazard," Spitzer said.

Mercury exposure over long periods causes neurological damage in children and mercury in fish eaten by women can threaten a pregnancy.  Replacing mercury switches with 38-cent ball-bearing switches would cost Ford hundreds of thousands of dollars in parts alone for the automobiles involved in the safety recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires and Ford's replacement of 13 million more.

The mercury bubble activates the light switch as the hood or trunk lid is opened. The states' attorneys say a switch activated by a ball bearing will do the job as well, at a cost of about 8 cents to 10 cents more.  The attorneys general said in a letter to Ford that the voluntary replacement of mercury switches would prevent more than 2 million grams of mercury from release into the environment. Once collected, they mercury could be safely reused or, eventually, sealed.  A spokesman for Spitzer said the replacements could be made in seconds.

    "I think it would be a tremendous jump start," said Michael Bender of the nonprofit Mercury Policy Project based in Vermont that has lobbied Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. "I think it would take one of the Big Three to be the leader. I think the others will then jump on board."    In addition to New York, other states and U.S. territories asking Ford to recall the switches are: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virgin Islands and West Virginia.

Automobile Shred

  • 14 million tons of shredded automobiles in US each year
  • Michigan study surveyed 1474 vehicles in 2002
    -Average of 0.54 switches per vehicle
    -Average Hg in switch 0.8 grams
    -Average of 796 switches with 1.4 lbs of Hg

The entire shred market

  • 14 million autos at 0.54 switches per auto
    -7,560,000 switches
  • 7,560,000 switches at 0.8 grams of Hg
    -13,305 lbs of Hg
  • 13,305 lbs of Hg in 28 billion lbs of automobile shred each year
    -0.48 part per million by weight

What are we looking for?    

  • Scrap inspection at steel mill:
    -0.48 ppm cannot be seen
  • Switches are small and impossible to visually detect at scrap yards, shredders or steel mills
  • Auto dismantlers are removing batteries, tires, radiators, etc.
    -Michigan study indicated 95 seconds on average to remove a switch
  • Using Michigan study of 1474 vehicles—801 switches were found
  • 0.54 switches per vehicle
  • 0.8 grams of Hg per switch
  • About 14,000,000 autos are shredded in US each year
  • 7,560,000 switches per year
  • 13,305 lbs of Hg per year

Current Automobile Life Cycle



 

 

Proposed Automobile Life Cycle