Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is toxic to people and wildlife. When products containing mercury are broken or thrown in the trash, outdoors, or down the drain, mercury cycles through the environment, polluting air and water, and accumulating in fish. You and your family can be exposed to mercury by breathing its fumes, eating contaminated fish, or touching spilled mercury.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has developed this page to provide you with a one-stop resource for learning about mercury, understanding its environmental and public health impacts, safely managing products and wastes that contain it, and finding out what state government is doing to reduce and ultimately eliminate the mercury threat.

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Chapter 190 of the Acts of 2006, amending M.G.L. Chapter 21H, requires end-of-life recycling of mercury-containing products; prohibits disposal of mercury in trash and wastewater; bans the sale of specific products containing mercury; directs schools and state government to stop purchasing mercury-containing items; establishes a program for removing mercury switches from vehicles; and requires manufacturers both to notify the state of products with mercury content and to establish end-of-life collection and recycling programs.

Mercury Management Act

Chapter 190 of the Acts of 2006
Massachusetts Legislature web site

MassDEP Fact Sheet: Summary of the Law (April 2008)
MS Word 62 KB | PDF 46 KB

Mercury in Products Regulations: Phase I, December 2007

Amendments to 310 CMR 70.00 and new chapters 310 CMR 74.00 and 310 CMR 75.00 implementing provisions of the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act that call for removal of mercury-added vehicle switches and collection/recycling of mercury-added lamps and other products.
Web page

Prohibition on Disposal of Mercury-Containining Products

Frequently Asked Questions: Disposal Prohibition Provision of the Mercury Management Act
Revised: April 2008
MS Word 124 KB | PDF 74 KB

Related: Mercury Handling Guidance for Permitted Solid Waste Facilities & Conditionally Exempt Recycling Operations
Web page

Mercury-Added Lamps

MassDEP Information: Fluorescent & Mercury-Added Light Bulbs
Web page

Certification Forms for Mercury-Added Lamp Manufacturers
Web page

Mercury Vehicle Switches

MassDEP Information: Automotive Recyclers
Web page

Certification Forms for Vehicle Manufacturers, Vehicle & Scrap Recyclers, & Mobile Crushers
Web page

Mercury Management in Schools

Web page

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Massachusetts Zero Mercury Strategy

PDF 344 KB

310 CMR 7.29 Emissions Standards for Power Plants

Final Regulations, May 2004
MS Word 75 KB | PDF 43 KB

Fact sheet
MS Word 190 KB | PDF 340 KB

Expected reductions in mercury emissions
JPG Image 112 KB

Draft regulations, October 2003
Web page

Technical support document
Web page

Response to comments
Web page

MassDEP power plant mercury control feasibility evaluation, December 2002

MS Word 728 KB | PDF 534 KB

310 CMR 7.08(2) Municipal Waste Combustor Rule

Sets a mercury emissions standard nearly three times more stringent than that of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Original Rule, 1998
Web page

Amendments, 2001
MS Word 26 KB

Policy for implementing the Rule's mercury requirements
Web page

Related: Material Separation Plans
Web page

MassDEP Dental Amalgam/Mercury Recycling Program

Web page

Interstate Mercury Education & Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC)

Web site

IMERC Mercury-Added Products Database
Web site

New England Governors & Eastern Canadian Premiers Regional Mercury Action Plan

PDF 51 KB

Best Management Practices for Mercury-Containing Equipment at Public Drinking Water Systems

Web page

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Mercury is Toxic

Summary of the toxic dangers of mercury exposure
Web page

Mercury Health Effects

Summary of adverse health effects from mercury exposure
Web page

Mercury in Massachusetts

An evaluation of sources, emissions, impacts and controls, June 1996
Web page

Mercury in the Environment

Information on mercury contamination and fish consumption
Web page

Mercury in the Home

Lists home products that contain mercury
Web page

Mercury in Common Household Products

Information about mercury content in everyday items
MS Word 405 KB

Mercury Management in Schools

Web page

Managing Mercury-Containing Items

Mercury in home medical devices and liquid mercury: guidelines for handling and disposal
Web page

Fluorescent & Mercury-Added Light Bulbs: Guidelines for Handling & Recycling

Web page

Related: Consumer Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)
Web page

Mercury in Household Batteries: Guidelines for Handling & Disposal

Web page

Mercury in Paints & Stains: Guidelines for Handling & Disposal

Web page

Cleaning Up Spills of Elemental (Liquid) Mercury

Web page

Eight Good Ideas for Reducing Mercury Exposure and Pollution in Your Community

PDF 467 KB

Sector-specific information about mercury use, alternatives, recycling and waste management

Dentistry
Web page

Medical care
Web site

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Cleaning Up Spills of Elemental (Liquid) Mercury

Web page

Consumer Information: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)

Web page

Mercury Devices & Liquid Mercury

Learn about hazards, handling and management options.
Web page

Municipal & Commercial Drop-Off Locations for Mercury-Added Product Recycling

MS Excel 119 KB | PDF 73 KB

Municipal Waste Combustor-Funded Programs

If trash from your community is delivered to one of the state's large incinerators, you may be eligible to participate in mercury diversion programs funded through that facility's tipping fees and outlined in its Material Separation Plan (MSP).
Web page

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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has monitored mercury in fish since 1984. Recent studies track diminishing fish mercury levels in conjunction with newly imposed strict emissions standards. more...

Massachusetts Fish Tissue Mercury Studies

Long-Term Monitoring Results, 1999-2004 (issued in 2006)
MS Word 3.3 MB | PDF 650 KB

Fish Mercury Levels In Northeastern Massachusetts Lakes: Final Report

Documents elevated mercury concentrations in freshwater fish from 23 of 26 lakes surveyed, December 2003
Web page

Commissioner's Cover letter
Web page

Freshwater Fish Mercury Concentrations in a Regionally High Mercury Deposition Area

Published research paper from Water, Air and Soil Pollution by Michael S. Hutcheson, C. Mark Smith, Gordon T. Wallace, Jane Rose, Barbara Eddy, James Sullivan, Oscar Pancorbo, Carol Rowan West.  December 2007.
MS Word 1.2 MB | PDF 561 KB

Fish Mercury Distribution in Massachusetts Lakes: Final Report

Determines patterns of variation in mercury concentrations in sediment, water and fish from 24 bodies of water, May 1997
PDF 527 KB

Published research paper (Posted with permission. ©SETAC, Pensacola, FL)
PDF 131 KB

Massachusetts Fish Tissue Mercury Studies: Investigations of Seasonal & Other Sources of Variation

Published in 2006.
MS Word 6.1 MB | PDF 854 KB

Determination of Recent Inputs of Mercury to Lakes/Ponds in the Merrimack Valley Using Sediment Cores, March 2004

MS Word 2.8 MB

Mercury Bioaccumulation in the Food Webs of Two Northeastern Massachusetts Freshwater Ponds, April 2003

MS Word 180 KB

Mercury Bioaccumulation in Non-fish Vertebrates in Massachusetts: Compilation of Existing Resources and Recommendations for the Future

Please contact Jane Rose of MassDEP at 617-574-6874 or jane.rose@state.ma.us to obtain a copy of this document

Summary of MassDEP Mercury Studies 1994 to 2004

MS Word 1.2 MB

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Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Database of freshwater fish consumption advisories, searchable by community
Web site

Master List of All Waterbodies Tested for Fish Toxics by MassDEP to Determine Fish Advisories

MS Word 370 KB | PDF 70 KB

Fish Testing Request Form

Ask for testing of fish from a specific lake, pond, river, or stream. Samples are generally tested for mercury and other metals, pesticides, and PCBs. February 1 is the annual deadline for fish testing requests.
MS Word 25 KB | PDF 10 KB

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Integrated Waste Services Association (IWSA)

Mercury information from the trade group for the municipal waste combustor industry.
Web site

National Academy of Sciences report on risks of mercury in the environment.

Web site

Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA) Mercury Home Page

Web site

United Nations Environment Programme: Mercury

Web site

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