Public Act 097-0459
 
SB1213 EnrolledLRB097 02727 JDS 42748 b


  
    AN ACT concerning safety.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  

  
 
    Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 3.284 and 22.23b as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/3.284)

    Sec. 3.284. Mercury switch. "Mercury switch" means a 
product or device, containing mercury added during its 
manufacture, that opens or closes an electrical circuit or gas 
valve, or  makes, breaks, or changes the connection in an 
electrical circuit, including, but not limited to, mercury 
float switches actuated by rising or falling liquid levels, 
mercury tilt switches actuated by a change in the switch 
position, mercury pressure switches actuated by a change in 
pressure, mercury temperature switches actuated by a change in 
temperature, and mercury flame sensors.

(Source: P.A. 93-964, eff. 8-20-04.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/22.23b)

    Sec. 22.23b. Mercury and mercury-added products.
    (a) Beginning July 1, 2005, no person shall purchase or 
accept, for use in a primary or secondary school classroom, 
bulk elemental mercury, chemicals containing mercury 
compounds, or instructional equipment or materials containing 
mercury added during their manufacture.  This subsection (a) 
does not apply to: (i) other products containing mercury added 
during their manufacture that are used in schools and (ii) 
measuring devices used as teaching aids, including, but not 
limited to, barometers, manometers, and thermometers, if no 
adequate mercury-free substitute exists.
    (b) Beginning July 1, 2007, no person shall sell, offer to 
sell, distribute, or offer to distribute in this State a 
mercury switch or mercury relay individually or as a product 
component.  For a product that contains one or more mercury 
switches or mercury relays as a component, this subsection (b) 
is applicable to each component part or parts and not the 
entire product.  This subsection (b) does not apply to the 
following:
        (1) Mercury switches and mercury relays used in medical 
    diagnostic equipment regulated under the federal Food, 
    Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
        (2) Mercury switches and mercury relays used at 
    electric generating facilities.
        (3) Mercury switches in thermostats used to sense and 
    control room temperature.
        (4) Mercury switches and mercury relays required to be 
    used under federal law or federal contract specifications.
        (5) A mercury switch or mercury relay used to replace a 
    mercury switch or mercury relay that is a component in a 
    larger product in use before prior to July 1, 2007, and one 
    of the following applies:
            (A) The larger product is used in manufacturing; or
            (B) The mercury switch or mercury relay is 
        integrated and not physically separate from other 
        components of the larger product.

    (c) The manufacturer of a mercury switch or mercury relay, 
or a scientific instrument or piece of instructional equipment 
containing mercury added during its manufacture, may apply to 
the Agency for an exemption from the provisions of subsection 
(a) or (b) of this Section for one or more specific uses of the 
switch, relay, instrument, or piece of equipment by filing a 
written petition with the Agency.  The Agency may grant an 
exemption, with or without conditions, if the manufacturer 
demonstrates the following:
        (1) A convenient and widely available system exists for 
    the proper collection, transportation, and processing of 
    the switch, relay, instrument, or piece of equipment at the 
    end of its useful life; and
        (2) The specific use or uses of the switch, relay, 
    instrument, or piece of equipment provides a net benefit to 
    the environment, public health, or public safety when 
    compared to available nonmercury alternatives.
    Before approving any exemption under this subsection (c) 
the Agency must consult with other states to promote 
consistency in the regulation of products containing mercury 
added during their manufacture.  Exemptions shall be granted for 
a period of 5 years.  The manufacturer may request renewals of 
the exemption for additional 5-year periods by filing 
additional written petitions with the Agency.  The Agency may 
renew an exemption if the manufacturer demonstrates that the 
criteria set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection 
(c) continue to be satisfied.  All petitions for an exemption or 
exemption renewal shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the 
Agency.
    The Agency must adopt rules for processing petitions 
submitted pursuant to this subsection (c).  The rules shall 
include, but shall not be limited to, provisions allowing for 
the submission of written public comments on the petitions.
    (d) No later than January 1, 2005, the Agency must submit 
to the Governor and the General Assembly a report that includes 
the following:
        (1) An evaluation of programs to reduce and recycle 
    mercury from mercury thermostats and mercury vehicle 
    components; and
        (2) Recommendations for altering the programs to make 
    them more effective.
    In preparing the report the Agency may seek information 
from and consult with, businesses, trade associations, 
environmental organizations, and other government agencies.
    (e) Mercury switches and mercury relays, and scientific 
instruments and instructional equipment containing mercury 
added during their manufacture, are hereby designated as 
categories of universal waste subject to the streamlined 
hazardous waste rules set forth in Title 35 of the Illinois 
Administrative Code, Subtitle G, Chapter I, Subchapter c, Part 
733 ("Part 733").  Within 60 days of the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Agency shall 
propose, and within 180 days of receipt of the Agency's 
proposal the Board shall adopt, rules that reflect this 
designation and that prescribe procedures and standards for the 
management of such items as universal waste.

    If the United States Environmental Protection Agency 
adopts streamlined hazardous waste regulations pertaining to 
the management of mercury switches or mercury relays, or 
scientific instruments or instructional equipment containing 
mercury added during their manufacture, or otherwise exempts 
such items from regulation as hazardous waste, the Board shall 
adopt equivalent rules in accordance with Section 7.2 of this 
Act within 180 days of adoption of the federal regulations.  The 
equivalent Board rules may serve as an alternative to the rules 
adopted under subsection (1) of this subsection (e).


    (f) Beginning July 1, 2008, no person shall install, sell, 
offer to sell, distribute, or offer to distribute a mercury 
thermostat in this State. For purposes of this subsection (f), 
"mercury thermostat" means a product or device that uses a 
mercury switch to sense and control room temperature through 
communication with heating, ventilating, or air conditioning 
equipment. "Mercury thermostat" includes thermostats used to 
sense and control room temperature in residential, commercial, 
industrial, and other buildings, but does not include 
thermostats used to sense and control temperature as a part of 
a manufacturing or industrial process.

(Source: P.A. 95-452, eff. 8-27-07.)
 
    Section 10. The Mercury Switch Removal Act is amended  by 
changing Section 15 as follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 97/15)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2017)

    Sec. 15. Mercury switch collection programs.  
    (a) Within 60 days of the effective date of this Act, 
manufacturers of vehicles in Illinois that contain mercury 
switches must begin to implement  a mercury switch collection 
program that facilitates the removal of  mercury switches from 
end-of-life vehicles before prior to the vehicles are being 
flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for 
recycling and to collect and properly manage   mercury switches 
in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and 
regulations adopted thereunder.  In order to ensure that the 
mercury switches are removed and collected in a safe and 
consistent manner, manufacturers must, to the extent 
practicable, use the currently available end-of-life vehicle 
recycling infrastructure.  The collection program must be 
designed to achieve capture rates of not less than (i) 35% for 
the period of July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007; (ii) 50% for 
the period of July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; and (iii) 
70% for the period of July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009 and 
for each subsequent period of July 1 through June 30.  At a 
minimum, the collection program must:
        (1)        Develop and provide educational materials that 
    include guidance as to which vehicles may contain mercury 
    switches and procedures for locating and removing mercury 
    switches.  The materials may include, but are not limited 
    to, brochures, fact sheets, and videos.
        (2)        Conduct outreach activities to encourage vehicle 
    recyclers and vehicle crushers to participate in the 
    mercury switch collection program.   The activities may 
    include, but are not limited to, direct mailings, 
    workshops, and site visits.




        (3)        Provide storage containers to participating 
    vehicle recyclers and vehicle crushers for mercury 
    switches removed under the program.




        (4)        Provide a collection and transportation system to 
    periodically collect and replace filled storage containers 
    from vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal 
    recyclers, either upon notification that a storage 
    container is full or on a schedule predetermined by the 
    manufacturers.
        (5)        Establish an entity that will serve as a point of 
    contact for the collection program and that will establish, 
    implement, and oversee the collection program on behalf of 
    the manufacturers.
        (6)        Track participation in the collection program and 
    the progress of mercury switch removals and collections.

    (b) Within 90 days of the effective date of this Act, 
manufacturers of vehicles in Illinois that contain mercury 
switches must submit to the Agency an implementation plan that 
describes how the collection program under subsection (a) of 
this Section will be carried out for the duration of the 
program and how the program will achieve the capture rates set 
forth in subsection (a) of this Section.  At a minimum, the 
implementation plan must:
        (A)       Identify the educational materials that will 
    assist vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap 
    metal processors in identifying, removing, and properly 
    managing mercury switches removed from end-of-life 
    vehicles.




        (B)       Describe the outreach program that will be 
    undertaken to encourage vehicle recyclers and vehicle 
    crushers to participate in the mercury switch collection 
    program.




        (C)       Describe how the manufacturers will ensure that 
    mercury switches removed from end-of-life vehicles are 
    managed in accordance with the Illinois Environmental 
    Protection Act and regulations adopted thereunder.
        (D)       Describe how the manufacturers will collect and 
    document the information required in the quarterly reports 
    submitted pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section.




        (E)       Describe how the collection program will be 
    financed and implemented.
        (F)       Identify the manufacturer's address to which the 
    Agency should send the notice required under subsection (f) 
    of this Section.

    The Agency shall review the collection program plans it 
receives for completeness and shall notify the manufacturer in 
writing if a plan is incomplete.  Within 30 days after receiving 
a notification of incompleteness from the Agency the 
manufacturer shall submit to the Agency a plan that contains 
all of the required information.  
    (c)        The Agency must provide assistance to manufacturers in 
their implementation of the collection program required under 
this Section.  The assistance shall include providing 
manufacturers with information about businesses likely to be 
engaged in vehicle recycling or vehicle crushing, conducting 
site visits to promote participation in the collection program, 
and assisting with the scheduling, locating, and staffing of 
workshops conducted to encourage vehicle recyclers and vehicle 
crushers to participate in the collection program.
    (d)        Manufacturers subject to the collection program 
requirements of this Section shall provide, to the extent 
practicable, the opportunity for trade associations of vehicle 
recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers to be 
involved in the delivery and dissemination of educational 
materials regarding the identification, removal, collection, 
and proper management of mercury switches in end-of-life 
vehicles.
    (e) (Blank). For the calendar quarter ending March 31, 
2007, and for each calendar quarter thereafter, not later than 
45 days following the close of the calendar quarter 
manufacturers subject to the collection program requirements 
of this Section must submit to the Agency a quarterly report 
that contains the following information:  (i) the number of 
vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers 
participating in the manufacturer's collection program during 
the reported quarter, (ii) the number of mercury switches 
removed from end-of-life vehicles during the reported quarter 
by the vehicle recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal 
recyclers participating in the program, and (iii) the amount of 
mercury collected and recycled through the manufacturer's 
collection program during the reported calendar quarter.
    (f) If the reports required under this Act indicate that 
the capture rates set forth in subsection (a) of this Section 
for the period of July 1, 2007, though June 30, 2008, or for 
any subsequent period have not been met the Agency shall 
provide notice that the capture rate was not met; provided, 
however, that the Agency is not required to provide notice if 
it determines that the capture rate was not met due to a force 
majeure.  The Agency shall provide the notice by posting a 
statement on its website and by sending a written notice via 
certified mail to the manufacturers subject to the collection 
program requirement of this Section at the addresses provided 
in the manufacturers' collection plans.  Once the Agency 
provides notice pursuant to this subsection (f) it is not 
required to provide notice in subsequent periods in which the 
capture rate is not met.
    (g) Beginning 30 days after the Agency first provides 
notice pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section, the 
following shall apply:
        (1) Vehicle recyclers must remove all mercury switches 
    from each end-of-life vehicle before vehicles prior to 
    delivering the vehicle vehicles to an on-site or off-site 
    vehicle crusher or to a scrap metal recycler,  provided that 
    a vehicle recycler is not required to remove a mercury 
    switch that is inaccessible due to significant damage to 
    the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury switch that 
    occurred before prior to the vehicle recycler's receipt of 
    the vehicle in which case the damage must be noted in the 
    records the vehicle recycler is required to maintain under 
    subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c) of this Act.
        (2) No vehicle recycler, vehicle crusher, or scrap 
    metal recycler shall flatten, crush, or otherwise process 
    an end-of-life vehicle for recycling unless all mercury 
    switches have been removed from the vehicle, provided that  
    a mercury switch that is inaccessible due to significant 
    damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury 
    switch that occurred before prior to the vehicle 
    recycler's, or the vehicle crusher's, or scrap metal 
    recycler's receipt of the vehicle is not required to be 
    removed. The damage must

be noted in the records the 
    vehicle recycler or vehicle crusher is required to maintain 
    under subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c) of this 
    Act.
        (3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (2) of this 
    subsection (g) subsection (g)(1) of this Section, a scrap 
    metal recycler may agree to accept an end-of-life vehicle 
    that contains one or more mercury switches and that has not 
    been flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed 
    for recycling provided the scrap metal recycler removes all 
    mercury switches from the vehicle before the vehicle is 
    flattened, crushed, shredded, or otherwise processed for 
    recycling. Scrap metal recyclers are not required to remove 
    a mercury switch that is inaccessible due to significant 
    damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the mercury 
    switch that occurred before prior to the scrap metal 
    recycler's receipt of the vehicle. The damage must be noted 
    in the records the scrap metal recycler is required to 
    maintain under subsection (c) of Section 10 Section 10(c) 
    of this Act.
        (4) Manufacturers subject to the collection program 
    requirements of this Section must provide to vehicle 
    recyclers, vehicle crushers, and scrap metal recyclers the 
    following compensation for all mercury switches removed 
    from end-of-life vehicles on or after the date of the 
    notice:  $2.00 for each mercury switch removed by the 
    vehicle recycler, vehicle crusher, or the scrap metal 
    recycler, the costs of the containers in which the mercury 
    switches are collected, and the costs of packaging and 
    transporting the mercury switches off-site.
Payment of 
    this compensation must be provided in a prompt manner.
    (h) In meeting the requirements of this Section 
manufacturers may work individually or as part of a group of 2 
or more manufacturers.

(Source: P.A. 94-732, eff. 4-24-06.)
 
    Section 15. The Mercury-added Product Prohibition Act is 
amended  by changing Section 27 as follows:
 
    (410 ILCS 46/27)
    Sec. 27. Sale and distribution of certain mercury-added 
products prohibited.
    (a) On and after July 1, 2008, no person shall sell, offer 
to sell, or distribute the following mercury-added products in 
this State:
        (1) barometers;

        (2) esophageal dilators, bougie tubes, or 
    gastrointestinal tubes;

        (3) flow meters;
        (4) hydrometers;

        (5) hygrometers;

        (6) manometers;

        (7) pyrometers;

        (8) sphygmomanometers;

        (9) thermometers; or

        (10) psychrometers; .

        (11) pressure transducers; 
        (12) rings; 
        (13) seals; or 
        (14) sensors. 
    (b) This Section does not apply to the sale of a 
mercury-added product listed in paragraphs (1) through (14) 
(10) of subsection (a)  if use of the product is a federal 
requirement or if the only mercury-added component in the 
product is a button cell battery.

    (c) This Section does not apply to the sale of a 
mercury-added product listed in paragraphs (1) through (14) 
(10) of subsection (a) for which an exemption is obtained under 
this subsection (c). The manufacturer of the product may apply 
for an exemption for one or more uses of the product by filing 
a written petition with the Agency. The Agency may grant an 
exemption, with or without conditions, if the manufacturer 
demonstrates the following:

        (1) a system exists for the proper collection, 
    transportation, and processing of the product at the end of 
    its useful life; and

        (2) one of the following applies:

            (i) use of the product provides a net benefit to 
        the environment, public health, or public safety when 
        compared to available nonmercury alternatives; or

            (ii) technically feasible nonmercury alternatives 
        are not available at comparable cost.

    Before Prior to approving an exemption, the Agency may 
consult with other states to promote consistency in the 
regulation of the product for which the exemption is requested. 
The Agency may also publish notice of its receipt of petitions 
for exemptions on its website and consider public comments 
submitted in response to the petitions. Exemptions shall be 
granted for a term of 5 years and may be renewed for additional 
5-year terms upon written application by the manufacturer if 
the manufacturer demonstrates that the criteria of this 
subsection (c) and the conditions of the product's original 
exemption approval continue to be met. All petitions for 
exemptions and exemption renewals shall be submitted on forms 
prescribed by the Agency.


(Source: P.A. 95-87, eff. 8-13-07.)
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on July 
1, 2012.