S.Amdt. 2502

1. Adds Sec. __. (a) The Senate finds that-- wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: Sec. __. (a) The Senate finds that--

   Inserted: (1)(A) mercury was used in switches found in the convenience lighting and anti-lock brake systems of old cars, including models manufactured overseas before 1992 and models manufactured in the United States before 2003;

   Inserted: (B) if those switches are not removed from a car prior to crushing, the resulting scrap metal will contain mercury;

   Inserted: (C) every year, the steel industry melts down 12,000,000 to 14,000,000 used cars as valuable feedstock for steel;

   Inserted: (D) when the scrap is melted, mercury is released through the stacks of the furnaces and into the air people breathe;

   Inserted: (E) while each switch is small, the quantity of mercury found in the switches adds up quickly;

   Inserted: (F) in 2003, the cars recycled by the steel industry contained 8,500,000 switches and approximately 10 tons of mercury;

   Inserted: (G) steel is the fourth largest emitter of mercury in the United States; and

   Inserted: (H) vehicle switches are the largest source of mercury for the steel industry;

   Inserted: (2)(A) in August 2006, 9 organizations launched the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program (referred to in this section as the "Program") to increase the recovery of mercury-filled switches found in old cars, including--

   Inserted: (i) the American Iron and Steel Institute;

   Inserted: (ii) the Steel Manufacturers Association;

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   Inserted: (iii) the Automotive Recyclers Association;

   Inserted: (iv) the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries;

   Inserted: (v) the End of Life Vehicles Corporation;

   Inserted: (vi) the Environmental Defense Fund;

   Inserted: (vii) the Ecology Center;

   Inserted: (viii) the Environmental Council of the States; and

   Inserted: (ix) the Environmental Protection Agency;

   Inserted: (B) the Program is operating through the End of Life Vehicles Corporation (referred to in this section as "ELVS"), a nonprofit organization established and operated by automobile manufacturers and other founders of the national voluntary Program; and

   Inserted: (C) ELVS--

   Inserted: (i) educates scrappers on how to recover mercury switches;

   Inserted: (ii) provides sealed containers for the scrappers to use when shipping the switches to ELVS;

   Inserted: (iii) negotiates responsible disposal of the switches;

   Inserted: (iv) pays incentive bounties for each recovered switch; and

   Inserted: (v) handles the receipt and responsible disposal of switches from States with mandatory mercury switch recycling laws;

   Inserted: (3)(A) in February 2008, after 18 months of operation, the Program collected 1,000,000 switches; and

   Inserted: (B) collection has picked up since with more than 1,000,000 switches recovered during the 12 month-period beginning in August 2008; and

   Inserted: (4)(A) since August 2009, however, the bounty fund established by the auto and steel industry had been empty;

   Inserted: (B) funding for the operation of ELVS itself is in jeopardy; and

   Inserted: (C) the timing is particularly unfortunate in light of the success of the Cash for Clunkers Temporary Vehicle Trade-In Program, which has resulted in another 670,000 old cars being taken off the road and recycled.

   Inserted: (b) It the sense of the Senate that the Senate--

   Inserted: (1) supports the National Vehicle Mercury Switch Recovery Program; and

   Inserted: (2) urges the founders of the effective Program find a way to fund the Program so that the successful efforts of the Program to prevent mercury pollution may continue.

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed