Ecology Center

Automotive Mercury Switch Study Released: Environmentalists Call for States To Enact Legislation Requiring Automakers To Take Responsibility for Mercury

The Michigan DEQ has released the results of a 3-month study of how to recover automotive switches which contain mercury from end-of-life vehicles. Automakers have installed mercury-containing convenience lighting and anti-lock braking (ABS) switches in vehicles over the past few decades. The study provides a number of valuable findings, including confirmation of the magnitude of the auto mercury problem and the need for quick action to address it. The study results confirm that nearly 5,000 lbs. of mercury are contained in vehicles on Michigan's roads and that an estimated 239 pounds of mercury are in convenience lighting switches in scrapped vehicles each year. Additional amounts of mercury are also present in anti-lock breaking switches and HID head lamps.

The State of Michigan and other states should adopt legislation to require the removal of mercury switches in all motor vehicles before they are retired, and automakers should provide funding to cover the expenses of auto dismantlers and other parties who remove them. The Partnership for Mercury-Free Vehicles, a broad coalition of vehicle recycling organizations and environmental organizations, has developed model legislation that states should now follow. The State of Maine adopted similar legislation earlier this year, taking an important step forward in eliminating this key source of mercury into the environment. More information about the partnership is available at:

Some key findings that the Michigan study confirm include the following:

Mercury automobile switches are one of Michigan's leading sources of mercury into the environment. Up to 239 pounds of mercury per year are being released to Michigan's land, air and water.

More than one out of every two vehicles contains a mercury switch; that's 2.7 million vehicles in Michigan that contain mercury, for a total of 4,780 pounds of mercury.

Up to 5% of switches are significantly corroded and potentially leaking mercury.

The study's finding of an average .54 switches per vehicle would be even higher if it had included a more representative sample of older vehicles, which generally have more switches per vehicle.

While switches can be removed on average in 1 to 2 minutes per switch, this is an added cost that auto dismantlers and recyclers are not currently compensated for. Additional management, paperwork, transportation and recycling steps add further costs to the auto recycler. Providing a mechanism to compensate auto recyclers for these added burdens is a critical part of solving the auto mercury problem.

For more information contact:
Charles Griffith or Jeff Gearhart of the Ecology Center at (734) 663-2400.