Sustainable Hospitals - Mercury Information Package

Mercury Reduction
Best Management Practices for
Mercury-containing Products in the Hospital
Electrical Equipment

Alternatives for mercury-containing
electrical equipment
Mercury can be found in many types of electrical equipment (see table below) and the equipment can have a lifetime measured in decades. Renovation is usually the reason that the equipment is replaced. Even if mercury use in newly manufactured equipment is discontinued, the recycling or disposal of used equipment will require an awareness of the mercury content for a long time to come.

Manufacturers have not eliminated mercury in all electrical equipment due to cost considerations. However, because of an awareness of mercury problems, manufacturers are increasingly making alternatives available. Ask your vendor to assist the hospital in selecting mercury-free products.

Mercury-containing Electrical Equipment
Type of Switch	Where Equipment is Used	Possible Alternative
Tilt switch	Airflow/fan limit control Building security systems Clothes iron Fire alarm box Fluid level, pressure or temperature control devices Laptop computer screen shutoff Lids of clothes washers and chest freezers Silent light switch Space heater Thermostats	Mechanical switch
Float switch	Bilge pumps Septic tank Sump pump	Magnetic dry reed switch Optic sensor Mechanical switch
Thermostat	Temperature control device may have a mercury tilt switch	Electronic thermostat
Reed relay	Low voltage, high precision analytical equipment such as electron microscope	Solid state relay Electro-optical relay Dry reed relay
Plunger or displacement relay	High current, high voltage applications such as lighting, resistance heating, power supply switching	Mechanical switch
Thermostat probe	Electric stoves Hot water heaters	Non-mercury probe

Recycling/disposal of
mercury-containing electrical equipment
If the hospital is preparing used electrical equipment for recycling or disposal and there is a question about the mercury content, obtain this information from the manufacturers. Remove any mercury-containing parts from the equipment. Store the parts in a tightly covered container labeled as to its contents. Parts from switches, thermostats, relays and thermostat probes (including the thermostat probes described in the section on Thermostat Probes in Gas Appliances) can be stored in the same container. The container could be located in the supply area of the hospital where replacement parts are stored until it is full and ready for transport to the hospital's designated hazardous waste collection point. Recyclers are available that accept these equipment components.

Take-back programs for thermostats
Honeywell Corporation has a free take-back program to collect any brand of used mercury-containing thermostats. To use the system, contact a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning wholesaler to learn if the wholesaler is participating in the program. Honeywell provides a special container for thermostats to each participating wholesaler. Do not remove the switches from your thermostats before taking them to the wholesaler. (Call 800-345-6770 for further information.)

Honeywell is one example of a take-back program. Other companies may have such programs. Contact your supplier to learn if this option is available. Take-back programs may be subject to Universal Waste Rules that have been adopted by New York State. Check with the appropriate local and state agencies to ensure that the specific take-back program is legal.

Best
Management Practices

Fever Thermometers

Sphygmomanometers

Gastrointestinal Tubes

Dental Amalgam and Mercury

Laboratory Chemicals

Pharmaceutical Products

Cleaners and Degreasers

Batteries

Lamps

Electrical Equipment

Thermostat Probes in Gas Appliances