Senate Votes To Ban Sale of Mercury Thermometers

Date: September 5, 2002

Source: News Room

The Senate has voted to ban the sale of mercury fever thermometers in order to curb a source of environmental contamination. Without dissent, the Senate sent The Mercury Reduction and Disposal Act to the US House of Representatives for concurrence. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates medical mercury thermometers contribute about 17 tons of mercury to solid waste per year, said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and chief sponsor of the measure. The bill calls for a nationwide ban on the sale of such thermometers as well as a grant program to help consumers exchange them for digital models or other alternatives.

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