To help protect our Lake Erie water from mercury contamination the Avon Lake Municipal Utilities is conducting a free mercury thermometer exchange program. Board of Municipal Utilities Chairman Chuck Whitmer said, “The Board feels the thermometer exchange program is an excellent way of bringing the public’s attention to the potential dangers of mercury and what we can positively do as individuals to minimize its presence in the environment.”

Residents will receive an environmentally safe oral thermometer for bringing their old one to the Utilities Office on Miller Road, from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, weekdays. Thermometers must be delivered in their original containers or sealed plastic bags for safety purposes. Avon Lake Municipal Utilities will then coordinate with a hazardous waste facility for the proper disposal of the mercury.

Mercury is a naturally occurring metal and has been classified by USEPA as a “bio-accumulative chemical of concern”. Methyl mercury, the only hazardous form, once introduced into the food chain continues to concentrate in the tissue of the organisms that consume it and has led to fish eating advisories.  Mercury has had many uses, in the past, including fever thermometers, thermostats, electronics, propellants, and fluorescent lamps. Ohio’s new mercury product law House Bill 443 has established sales bans for certain mercury products. 

So please bring your old mercury thermometers to THE Avon Lake Municipal Utilities OFFICE ON MILLER ROAD and we’ll give you AN environmentally safe one to take home free of charge.

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