Remove Mercury from Your Car, for Free!

Did you know that your car may have enough highly toxic mercury inside of it to contaminate a small lake? In many vehicles mercury switches complete the circuit for lights located in hoods and trunks. Northwest Automotive Trades Association (NATA), the Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Environmental Council cooperated to help pass legislative bill HB3007 in May of 2001. The bill has three major components designed to reduce the threat of mercury contamination, including establishing a no-cost, voluntary mercury auto switch replacement program; prohibiting the sale of cars containing mercury in Oregon after 2006; and requiring mercury auto switches be removed before cars are crushed.(NATA)

Bob Anderson, owner of AJ's Auto Repair in Salem, and President of NATA, is directly involved with the mercury switch-out program. AJ's was the first to implement the program in Salem and now there are over 100 shops in Oregon that participate. Statewide the program has collected over 8000 switches and each switch weighs approximately one gram. When asked why he wanted to pilot this free service Bob said, "Mercury is an extremely toxic chemical and there is no need for it to be in these types of switches. There is a non-toxic ball bearing alternative that works just as well." AJ's has specifically designed and produced a sealed container for safe storage of the mercury switches which they donate to all participating shops. Bob said that the news about this program is spreading across the nation and he has received calls from the East Coast inquiring about this program. He is always happy to send them the details of the program and a receptacle to get them started.

This is not only a great program for the environment, it has also been a great program for AJ's Auto Repair. When the program first started, AJ's tracked the customers that came into the shop for the purpose of getting their mercury switches replaced. Bob stated that "the first 90 people who participated in the program have since spent over $26,000 in automotive repair services at AJ's." Furthermore, Bob estimates that 22% of his customers continue to bring their cars to AJ's because of the shop's overall environmental practices. Bob believes that he is doing his part as a responsible business owner and that he is filling a niche in the market for environmentally conscious patrons.

If you are wondering if your vehicle has mercury switches in it, you can check NATA's web site at www.aboutnata.org/Environment/MercurySwitch-OutProgram.html where you will find a link to a list of all the vehicles containing mercury switches and another link to shops in Oregon that participate in the program. When you next visit your mechanic, you might ask if they will replace any mercury switches that are in your car. And if they don't know about the switch-out program, give them a gentle nudge so that they might contact NATA, or Bob Anderson, to become part of the program.

NATA, Northwest Automotive Trades Association. Mercury Switch-Out Program. http://www.aboutnata.org/Environment/MercurySwitch-OutProgram.html October 2005

Bob Anderson(President of AJ's Auto Repair) and Justin Boyington(W.E.T. representative) show off sealed mercury containers that are filled with numerous mercury switches.