1420 North St.
Montpelier, VT 05602

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Bender

(802) 223-9000

 

NEW "COOL" CAR LIGHTS CONTAIN MERCURY

Manufacturers ignoring pledge to eliminate mercury used in cars

The January 19th AP article lauding the introduction of a high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps in cars is a great public relations piece for the automotive and automotive lighting industries, but it does not reveal the most critical and damaging piece of information about these lamps: they contain mercury.

"The new "cool" car HID headlamps characterized in the article are, in reality, an unnecessary, and unregulated use of mercury in a product," said Michael Bender, Project Director of the Mercury Policy Project. "The Big Three" automakers are using upwards of ten tons of mercury in their cars when it is technically feasible today for them to be using none." Bender said.

Moreover, the US and international automobile manufacturers have made several commitments to phase out the use of mercury-added products in automobiles between 1995 and April 1998. The automakers appear not to be forthcoming in providing their customers with information about mercury in HIDs, nor about the recent commitment of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association to "phasing mercury-added products out of motor vehicles in the immediate future." In 1995, the industry estimated that it used around 10 tons of mercury in cars.

While states, local governments, the US EPA and our international colleagues redouble their efforts to control mercury releases and phase out intentional use of mercury, the automotive industry and their lighting suppliers apparently are gearing up the introduction of a new mercury product that is driven completely by style and provides no significant benefits in comparison to the best (and considerably less expensive) non-mercury automotive lighting technologies.