skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Israel announces wave of strikes on Tehran after Trump demands Iran's unconditional surrender; NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested at immigration court; Federal bill would dim rooftop solar's future, says Michigan CEO; Despite known Iowa nitrate risks, EPA focuses on fluoride; Georgia's Macon-Bibb County launches justice reform plan.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's big budget and policy act faces pushback from clean energy advocates and small businesses. A federal court weighs legality of deploying the California National Guard over the governor's objections. And ICE detains a New York mayoral candidate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

Mercury Thermostat Collection Programs Failing in Texas, U.S.

play audio
Play

Friday, April 5, 2013   

AUSTIN, Texas – Voluntary efforts to keep mercury thermostats out of the trash in Texas and nationwide are failing, according to a new analysis called Turning Up The Heat.

Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project, says the programs run by manufacturers have captured only a small portion of the thermostats that have come out of service over the past decade.

"We estimate that nationally that only about 8 percent of the available mercury thermostats are being collected,” he says, “and as a result of that about 50 tons of mercury got into the environment that could've been collected."

Mercury and most its compounds are extremely toxic, and exposure can lead to a variety of physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems.

While there has been a four-fold increase in the rate of mercury thermostats turned-in in Texas, Bender says the actual numbers are small.

"What they don't mention,” he says, “is the Texas program collected less than 5,000 thermostats in total for 2011 compared to, for instance, the state of Maine, where they collected over 6,000 thermostats in the same year with a population 20 times smaller."

To improve the rate, Bender says there should be a ban on discarding mercury thermostats in the trash. In addition, he says incentives have been shown to work in some states, such as offering $5 for each one that's turned in.

"It's mainly directed at heating and ventilation and air conditioning contractors, and what we're trying to do is convince them that it's worth a little extra time to bring those in."

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 2 to 3 million thermostats come out of service annually. Each contains an average of 4 grams of mercury.









get more stories like this via email

more stories
Nutrient management planning has been around for more than 30 years, traditionally developed for farmers by private sector farm co-ops and agronomists. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A new effort is helping Wisconsin farmers protect water quality in their communities by learning more about how to prevent manure and fertilizer spill…


play sound

More than 70,000 Marylanders are student parents, raising kids while attending college full or part-time and proposed cuts in this year's big budget …

Social Issues

play sound

Advocates for homeownership in Oregon are celebrating a new bill which sets targets to boost the state's homeownership rate, currently at 64%…


Medical organizations said the effects of Alzheimer's are projected to rise in states like South Dakota and families should be more in tune with potential issues facing their loved one, including money management. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and new research examined the connection between dementia and awareness about money management skills…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado, already considered a national leader in workforce development, is aiming to raise the bar even higher. Gov. Jared Polis recently issued an …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Gov. Greg Abbott has until June 22 to sign or veto Senate Bill 3, which would ban consumable THC products in Texas. Banning items like vapes and …

Social Issues

play sound

A case with national implications on the power of the U.S. president to use state National Guard troops to quell protests now rests with a panel of …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021