My barometers were unsaleable, new law? or just me?
A.P.House
|
Click here to subscribe to M.A.D. Troubled Times Ahead for Mercury Barometers as Bans Spread Across the Country by David Hewett A nightmare scenario has developed for sellers of antique barometers. An event has crept up on them silently and suddenly, with little publicity and no warning. The sale of mercury barometers, new or antique, has been outlawed in most of the New England states and elsewhere, and the pressure to regulate in other states is building. Several barometer-only full-time dealers have been affected, but many clock and general-line dealers who routinely sell barometers could be affected, as well as all auctioneers in the relevant states. The sale of antique mercury barometers has been outlawed in at least nine states. It looks as if about a dozen states have been, or will be, affected. Legislation is pending in several state legislatures, and mercury regulations in others are murky at best and totally confusing at worst. This is what we know. The Public Laws of Maine, as enacted during the first regular session of the 121st legislative session in 2003, contains this knockout punch: "Instruments and measuring devices. Effective July 1, 2006, a person may not sell or offer to sell or distribute the following mercury-added products: A. A barometer…." (Chapter 221 H.P. 856 - L.D. 1159). Cushing, Maine, barometer dealer Neville Lewis discovered the ban in late May, when a source of his repair supplies notified him he would not be able to ship supplies to Maine after July 1. The supplier noted that two other states would also be shut off from delivery. They are Connecticut and Rhode Island. Lewis’s customers are spread over a wide geographic area. "It’s rare for me to sell a barometer and have it stay in Maine." He added that 99% of his repair business comes from out of state. The impending ban caused Lewis, a two-time president of the Maine Antiques Dealers Association, to cancel exhibiting at two Maine shows scheduled to be held after the July 1 deadline. He is not alone in that predicament. On January 1, 2005, it became illegal to sell, or offer to sell, mercury barometers in the state of New York (Title 21, Mercury-Added Consumer Products, § 27-2107. Prohibitions). Effective January 1, 2006, barometers containing mercury cannot be sold in Vermont (10 V.S.A. § 7105. Restrictions on the sale and use of certain mercury-added products). A Massachusetts law has unanimously passed both houses of the state legislature, and as soon as signed, it will ban the sale of mercury barometers, probably on January 1, 2007, we were told (S-2464, An Act Relative to Mercury Management). In Connecticut, HB 5539, signed into law on July 1, 2002, appears to have banned the sale of all mercury-added devices (such as barometers) two years ago. It went into effect on July 1, 2004. New Hampshire does regulate the sale of mercury-added products, including thermometers, barometers, and the essential raw product, elemental mercury, but does not appear to outright ban the sale of barometers, although others might have a different reading of the law. A 2000 law enacted in the Granite State reads: "278:4 Applicability. No mercury-added product shall be offered for final sale or use or distributed for promotional purposes in this state nor shipped to an address in this state unless the manufacturer has complied with all relevant requirements of this act, except that a retailer in this state may sell mercury containing products from the retailer’s stock as it existed on the effective date of this act. 278:5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2001." The full list of states with definite bans consists of Connecticut, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, and California. New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine have the toughest, nonambiguously written regulations in the country. Massachusetts’ law is pending, and some sources list New Jersey as an affected state, but dealer Jim Mulhern, who owns Medford Clock & Barometer in Medford, New Jersey, said he has not been affected by current legislation. Mulhern, however, has been hurt by rising mercury prices. "It’s gone from five dollars a pound to twenty-five dollars in just the last month," he said. "The Chinese are buying up every bit they can of it," he explained. A bottle that used to cost him $80 now costs $340. Mulhern said he would continue to sell and repair barometers, despite the bans in place elsewhere. He feels that anyone with a substantial investment in an antique barometer will not want a nonworking instrument. Many states, including Oregon, Maryland, Michigan, and Indiana, have laws controlling mercury thermometers. Interestingly enough, some antique mercury barometers exist in wooden cases that feature a mercury thermometer as an additional feature. Those instruments might pass scrutiny because the seller’s state does not ban barometers but face condemnation because of the thermometer. There appears to be no law banning another antiques-related mercury-added product: mercury-filled glass tube pendulums on regulator clocks, a feature originally designed to avoid the problems of weather affecting the accuracy of the clock. Historically, mercury-filled pendulums were found only on antique French regulator clocks, but they have been retrofitted to clocks of all ages and by other makers. The device, however, may come under regulation simply because it’s a "mercury-added" product. Antique barometers generally fall into the "mercury-added product" category, but the specific language used in the several laws is important and makes a difference in when and how the barometer is regulated. In most of the laws, barometers are specifically listed as regulated; in others they fall under the regulation by definition. A mercury-added product, according to one agency’s definition, is any formulated or fabricated product that contains mercury, a mercury compound, or a component containing mercury, when the mercury is intentionally added to the product (or component) for any reason. Illinois has a "mercury-added" law, but it comes within Public Act 93-0165, concerning thermometers, and has a rather broad definition. It reads: "On and after July 1, 2004, no mercury-added novelty products may be offered for sale or distributed for promotional purposes in Illinois if the offerer or distributor knows or has reason to know that the product contains mercury." Illinois’s definition of "novelty" is rather ambiguous: "‘Mercury-added novelty’ means a mercury-added product intended for personal or household enjoyment, including but not limited to: toys, figurines, adornments, games, cards, ornaments, yard statues and figurines, candles, jewelry, holiday decorations, and footwear and other items of apparel." A barometer can provide household enjoyment—does that make it a novelty in Illinois? Indiana does have "mercury-added product" regulation, but its statute contains this proviso: "IC 13-20-17.5-1, Applicability of chapter, Sec. 1. This chapter does not apply to antiques. As added by P.L.225-2001, SEC.15.," and defines antique as: "Sec. 7.5. ‘Antique’, for purposes of IC 13-20-17.5, refers to a product manufactured before 1980." Indiana is the only state with a mercury law that specifically excludes antiques. Rhode Island’s law takes a graduated approach: "§ 23-24.9-7 Phase-out and exemptions. – (a) No mercury-added product shall be offered for final sale or use or distributed for promotional purposes in Rhode Island if the mercury content of the product exceeds: "(1) One gram (1000 milligrams) for mercury-added fabricated products or two hundred fifty (250) parts per million (ppm) for mercury-added formulated products, effective January 1, 2006; "(2) One hundred (100) milligrams for mercury-added fabricated products or fifty (50) parts per million (ppm) for mercury-added formulated products, effective July 1, 2007; and "(3) Ten (10) milligrams for mercury-added fabricated products or ten (10) parts per million (ppm) for mercury-added formulated products, effective July 1, 2009." In addition to state laws, some cities and counties have their own regulations. Westchester County, New York, banned the sale of all mercury-containing devices and went so far as to outlaw the use of some mercury-containing instruments. In 2003, Ordinance § 863.701–863.706 was made law, banning "the use by any person or plumber of mercury gauges or manometers for the testing of gas pressure and further bans the sale by any person of mercury barometers, thermometers, and thermostats." On March 6, 2000, the city of Duluth, Minnesota, adopted the following regulation: "Duluth Code Chapter 28, Article VI: Mercury: No person shall sell or purchase a barometer which contains mercury within the city unless such sale or purchase is required by federal regulations." Statewide, Minnesota bans use of mercury in working thermometors and manometers but not barometers. The specifics of each state’s law are too complex and lengthy to reprint in full here. If you think you are affected, examine your state’s regulations. It is possible a loophole may exist that would allow a seller to apply for an exemption, but a cursory reading of most is not particularly encouraging. All the laws are obviously designed to stop the sale of potentially dangerous items that could lose mercury if broken or damaged. The health hazards of mercury are well known, and attempts to remove its presence from the food chain have been ongoing nationwide for well over three decades. Maine Governor John Baldacci, quoted in the Portland Press Herald after signing into law the latest bill regulating mercury, said, "The effects that mercury can have on your health can range from acne to impaired brain development and everything in between. It depends on the type of mercury and how you came into contact with it." Contact can come from broken thermometers, mercury switches and batteries, emanations from hazardous waste sites, dental fillings, eating fish, and other sources. The average mercury fever thermometer contains one gram of mercury, enough to contaminate all the fish in a lake with a surface area of 20 acres, according to the figures compiled by Westchester County, New York. The average mercury fever thermometer contains one gram of mercury, enough to contaminate all the fish in a lake with a surface area of 20 acres. Terri Goldberg, the deputy director of the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA), said, "Consumers just don’t know the dangers of mercury. We hear of people hoarding it in jars, of leaking and broken barometers. Kids think of it in terms of the Terminator movies. It’s very dangerous stuff. "There are serious problems with the shipping of mercury; that may be what finally leads to a ban everywhere," she said. Tom Metzner, an environmental analyst at the Hartford offices of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, said a significant spill happened in the Nutmeg State earlier this year. A container of mercury removed from hospital blood-pressure cuffs at hospitals in Illinois broke on a DHL loading dock. "The seller evidently bought the mercury from the hospital source, then listed it on eBay. A buyer here bought it, and it either broke in shipment, or while it was being handled at the loading dock. It was quite an amount; there were twenty-one cuffs involved, each of which can hold as much as five grams of mercury," Metzner said. "Our spills division went to the scene and supervised the cleanup." Metzner said the event was a clear violation of Connecticut’s mercury control law, which states that mercury-added products may not be sold in Connecticut. He added that they were looking to Maine for model legislation regarding selling mercury-added products on eBay. "Mercury is an enormous problem," admitted dealer Charles Probst, the owner of Charles Edwin Inc., a major barometer dealer in Louisa, Virginia. "I buy mercury in one-pound quantities. I can fill three banjo barometers with that pound, so it takes between five to seven ounces to refill a common barometer, a little less for stick barometers. There are others, though, like the U.S. Navy barometers, and other larger sizes, that can take two pounds or more to fill." "We send out a leaflet with every barometer telling the customer what to do in the event of a mercury spill, such as not using a vacuum cleaner to vacuum it up. "When we started handling mercury in large quantities and needed to set up a repair workshop, I went to the University of Virginia for advice. They have great expertise in handling mercury. I built the workshop to their advice. "I buy mercury in pound quantities. I can fill three barometers with that pound." "I used to ship mercury to customers. Then I discovered I needed an EPA certificate to ship mercury, so I quit shipping. All the major shipping companies, UPS, FedEx, et cetera, all their own internal hazardous material people clamped down on them, and they stopped shipping it." (The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has issued these guidelines for shipping mercury: "Mailing or Shipping. The U.S. DOT regulates transportation of hazardous materials. When shipped by air or vessel, elemental mercury would be regulated as a hazardous material. Packages containing one pound or more of mercury in one package would also be regulated as a hazardous material when shipped by highway. Mercury instruments in packages of less than one pound are only regulated in transportation by air. The shipping requirements include proper labeling, marking, and shipping papers. It is highly advised not to mail mercury via the U.S. Postal Service unless you fully understand all legal requirements. To obtain complete details call: 202-268-5168. Specify that the question is regarding the proper shipment of mercury and specify the UN number (UN2809). The United Parcel Service and FedEx and other shippers employ stringent requirements about shipping mercury and mercury instruments and, in some cases, prohibit it all together. Contact them directly for details.") What will Probst do if his mercury barometer trade is killed? "Well, I am getting close to retirement age anyway. I had planned on cutting back and just repairing barometers, but now that’s out. We can still sell barometers—they just won’t work like they used to. The laws obviously will have a major impact on our business, but it puts us all on a level playing field. If I can’t sell mercury barometers, my competitors can’t sell mercury barometers either." Probst said, "There is nothing available to replace mercury in a barometer and make it work. I suspect we’ll come up with something to put in them that will make them look like they used to, but they will never do the job they used to." "There is nothing available to replace mercury in a barometer and make it work." If mercury barometers aren’t already banned in your state, just wait. It’s a pretty good bet they will be. EUROPEAN UPDATE Some of the residents of Scotland, a country that belongs to the European Union (EU), have been outraged to discover that that political body has proposed rules that would outlaw the sales and repair of mercury barometers in all member EU nations. Earlier it appeared EU regulations would allow for the sale and repair of mercury barometers under license. That is no longer so. Writing on the news.scotsman.com Web site on June 22, Scotsman reporter Alistair Gray noted that many in Edinburgh, once the world leader in the manufacturer of mercury barometers, were incensed over the proposed regulations. Gray quoted Michael Bennett-Levy, the owner of an Edinburgh-based firm that specializes in the technology of the past, as saying “My customers, those that are very interested in antiques will be extraordinarily sad. This ban is complete nonsense. With mercury barometers it's not in any concentration that would ever be harmful.” Another man said, “I think a ban would be completely disproportionate—it's a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” Gray also carried the comments of Edward Allen, owner of Russell Scientific, one of the largest manufacturers of mercury barometers in the UK, as saying his business would be ruined under the proposal. The European Union meets in July to consider various proposals. Some Barometer Facts Barometer making in America came to this country from England, along with such other valued skills as rope making and bell making. Our American Cabinetmakers Database contains the names of 42 American makers of antique barometers, working in the eastern states from northern New England to Pennsylvania, and west to Ohio. Barometers are often classified as furniture. Most American barometers sell for under $10,000. A Simon Willard banjo clock with a rare barometer feature on the throat was offered at auction in 1999 with a $100,000 estimate but did not sell. A similar Willard banjo clock with a mercury thermometer at the throat was sold at Sotheby’s January 19-22, 2006, Americana sale for $51,000. The record auction price for any barometer appears to have been attained at a Sotheby’s sale in England on March 20, 2003, at the James Watt sale, where a circa 1840 stick barometer by William & Samuel Jones, using wood from the captured French ship Temeraire, brought $66,450. There are actually two types of barometers, mercury and aneroid (without fluid). Aneroid barometers contain no mercury and are not subject to bans. The mercury barometer was invented by Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) around 1644. A mercury barometer uses a glass tube from which the air has been evacuated and liquid mercury inserted. The amount of mercury in the barometer differs depending on its style. Barometer dealer Charles Probst uses on the average between five and seven ounces to refill a barometer, but some can take as much as two pounds. Another specialist recalls refilling a barometer that took six pounds of mercury. The height to which the mercury rises, about 30", is a measurement of the air pressure at that point and is called barometric pressure. Contrary to legend, using a mercury barometer for weather forecasting is not an exact science nor easily done. Mercury, because of its density, is the perfect material for barometer use. If plain tap water were to be substituted, the glass tube would have to be 34 feet high, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. |
© 2006 by Maine Antique Digest
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Sue Ridge
"A.P.House" <thema...@localnet.com> wrote in message
news:13flf4v...@corp.supernews.com...
> Hello,
> I was shocked to find out when I brought four of my mercury filled
> barometers to a well known auction house here in Maine, USA that they
> are unsellable in this state and as I was told 9 other states because
> they contained mercury.
> Furthermore I then took them to an auction just across the border
> into New Hampshire where they are sellable but the auctioneer advised me
> that he could not ship them across state lines.
> Apparently this law has been in affect for two yrs. This also
> applies to regulators with mercury filled pendulums. I was emaild a
> copy of an article from Maine Antique Digest from 2006. I'll attach it
> if any one would like to read it.
> I feel a bit foolish to find out about it years later, am I alone
> in my naiveness? Or is this just old news that everyone is aware of??
>
>
yep,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/06/nmercury106.xml
Frank Adam
<thema...@localnet.com> wrote:
>Hello,
> I was shocked to find out when I brought four of my mercury filled
>barometers to a well known auction house here in Maine, USA that they
>are unsellable in this state and as I was told 9 other states because
>they contained mercury.
> Furthermore I then took them to an auction just across the border
>into New Hampshire where they are sellable but the auctioneer advised me
>that he could not ship them across state lines.
> Apparently this law has been in affect for two yrs. This also
>applies to regulators with mercury filled pendulums. I was emaild a
>copy of an article from Maine Antique Digest from 2006. I'll attach it
>if any one would like to read it.
> I feel a bit foolish to find out about it years later, am I alone
>in my naiveness? Or is this just old news that everyone is aware of??
>
Heh, it's been around for some time. Mercury is now basically a banned
substance. Luckily, we can all still buy cigarettes which cause us no
harm at all, so all's good. :)
Serious, it does a bother me a bit that health and governemnt
organisations go so far nuts on these things. Ok, so mercury is not a
very good thing to swallow (and no, you don't even need to enhale it
Mr Clinton), but a lot of us would have grown up with that stuff all
around us. Hell, as a kid i've played with the bit that came out of
the broken thermometer and if it didn't kill me till today, i doubt it
will now. Ban it's production, but leave existing stuff alone.
It's all about this craze with making everything as "clean" as
possible. We have zillions of anti bacterial crap that housewives
spray all over the place... and geez, kids with allergies, asthma and
other illnesses have gone through the roof. If one of those bubble
kids come into contact with anything more dangerous than the
sterilised plastic bag they live in, they will not have any immunity
to it and fall sick.
Knock it off people, let the kids get dirty, then wash the little
buggers. They are largely water resistant, it's quite ok.
<fx: falls off soap box> :-)
--
Regards, Frank
dAz
> Heh, it's been around for some time. Mercury is now basically a banned
> substance. Luckily, we can all still buy cigarettes which cause us no
> harm at all, so all's good. :)
>
> Serious, it does a bother me a bit that health and governemnt
> organisations go so far nuts on these things. Ok, so mercury is not a
> very good thing to swallow (and no, you don't even need to enhale it
> Mr Clinton), but a lot of us would have grown up with that stuff all
> around us. Hell, as a kid i've played with the bit that came out of
> the broken thermometer and if it didn't kill me till today, i doubt it
> will now. Ban it's production, but leave existing stuff alone.
my Dad used to play with mercury when he was a kid, didn't hurt him, I
used to squeeze mercury out old hearing aid and watch batteries (mercury
batteries), used to get quite a drop out of them too.
the only guy I know that went loopy because of mercury was a mirror
maker, he used to restore old mirrors by laying tin on the mirror back
and pouring mercury over the tin, then would squeeze out the excess
mercury before painting over the amalgam to seal it.
turns out with large areas of mercury like that and breathing in the
vapours, not good.
>
> It's all about this craze with making everything as "clean" as
> possible. We have zillions of anti bacterial crap that housewives
> spray all over the place... and geez, kids with allergies, asthma and
> other illnesses have gone through the roof. If one of those bubble
> kids come into contact with anything more dangerous than the
> sterilised plastic bag they live in, they will not have any immunity
> to it and fall sick.
> Knock it off people, let the kids get dirty, then wash the little
> buggers. They are largely water resistant, it's quite ok.
>
yeah I agree, they have gone overboard, I mean when I was a kid I never
heard of anyone getting sick much less dying because they ate something
that contained peanuts except if they sucked the peanut into their
windpipe or something, asthma was around but not common
I had a run in the old car to a museum in western sydney the other
morning, 10am there they are lined up 6 deep in mcCrapo getting
breakfast, if they are eating food like that no wonder we are having
serious health problems.
Sue Ridge
"dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
news:46fb3317$0$1031$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
lets not get onto the topic of smoking and alcohol.....being bad for you.
SWG
> Hello,
> I was shocked to find out when I brought four of my mercury filled
> barometers to a well known auction house here in Maine, USA that they
> are unsellable in this state and as I was told 9 other states because
> they contained mercury.
Well meant politicians exist everywhere, producing decrees,
regulations, bans, on whatever trifles, lest they cannot fight against
the real polluters for obvious reasons.
In any case, the ban as far as I understand only prohibits the sale of
barometers. This leaves the door open to all other kinds of trading
not involving direct payment.
BTW, how much is the penalty for infringing on that beautiful piece of
law?
As an afterthought: perhaps the law was sponsored by some weather
channel :-)
bealoid
news:ei3mf3piu5iv1gqua...@4ax.com:
[snip]
> It's all about this craze with making everything as "clean" as
> possible. We have zillions of anti bacterial crap that housewives
> spray all over the place... and geez, kids with allergies, asthma and
> other illnesses have gone through the roof. If one of those bubble
> kids come into contact with anything more dangerous than the
> sterilised plastic bag they live in, they will not have any immunity
> to it and fall sick.
This is a myth and has been disproved.
JG
from bealoid
> Frank Adam wrote
> [snip]
> > It's all about this craze with making everything as "clean" as
> > possible. We have zillions of anti bacterial crap that housewives
> > spray all over the place... and geez, kids with allergies, asthma and
> > other illnesses have gone through the roof. If one of those bubble
> > kids come into contact with anything more dangerous than the
> > sterilised plastic bag they live in, they will not have any immunity
> > to it and fall sick.
> This is a myth and has been disproved.
Citation please .. .. ..
J (on the same soap-box as Frank) G
John S.
> Frank Adam wrote:
> > Heh, it's been around for some time. Mercury is now basically a banned
> > substance. Luckily, we can all still buy cigarettes which cause us no
> > harm at all, so all's good. :)
>
> > Serious, it does a bother me a bit that health and governemnt
> > organisations go so far nuts on these things. Ok, so mercury is not a
> > very good thing to swallow (and no, you don't even need to enhale it
> > Mr Clinton), but a lot of us would have grown up with that stuff all
> > around us. Hell, as a kid i've played with the bit that came out of
> > the broken thermometer and if it didn't kill me till today, i doubt it
> > will now. Ban it's production, but leave existing stuff alone.
>
> my Dad used to play with mercury when he was a kid, didn't hurt him, I
> used to squeeze mercury out old hearing aid and watch batteries (mercury
> batteries), used to get quite a drop out of them too.
>
> the only guy I know that went loopy because of mercury was a mirror
> maker, he used to restore old mirrors by laying tin on the mirror back
> and pouring mercury over the tin, then would squeeze out the excess
> mercury before painting over the amalgam to seal it.
>
> turns out with large areas of mercury like that and breathing in the
> vapours, not good.
Mad as a hatter.....
John S.
> Hello,
> I was shocked to find out when I brought four of my mercury filled
> barometers to a well known auction house here in Maine, USA that they
> are unsellable in this state and as I was told 9 other states because
> they contained mercury.
> into New Hampshire where they are sellable but the auctioneer advised me
> that he could not ship them across state lines.
> Apparently this law has been in affect for two yrs. This also
> applies to regulators with mercury filled pendulums. I was emaild a
> copy of an article from Maine Antique Digest from 2006. I'll attach it
> if any one would like to read it.
> I feel a bit foolish to find out about it years later, am I alone
> in my naiveness? Or is this just old news that everyone is aware of??
>
>
>
Your barometers and my regulator with a mercury pendulum now occupy
permanent parts of our respective collections.
Well intentioned, but the rule misses the principal sources of
mercury
pollution. Coal burning and chlorine production are much bigger
sources of mercury pollution. What is really to control non-
industrial sources of pollution like the ones you described is a
national standard and not the easily evaded checkerboard approach
currently in place. Rules on pollution that differ by city, county
and state accomplish very little. Consistent restrictions on sale of
mercury containing devices will go a lot further toward reducing
their
contribution to pollution. And consistent rules on disposal of
mercury containing devices would help reduce the amount of mercury
that is incinerated in waste disposal.
bealoid
@crescentcomputing.co.uk:
Here's one:
<http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/164/7/1107>
It's tricky finding the press releases and studies because the "dirt
creates antibodies that protect against allergies" theory is easy to
understand and is very popular.
Early exposure to allergens is thought to cause greater risk of
allergies. One theory for the rise in peanut allergy sufferers is the
increased use of 'nipple cream' (containing peanut oil) by breast feeding
mothers.
Having said all this, I'd agree that some people go too far with
cleanliness. Washing hands and dishes properly is fine. Using anti-
microbial alcohol gels for childrens hands and sterilising the plates is
probably going too far.
Mark F
eats Aluminum airframes. Let some spill in a 747 cargojet
and it's toast. Ditto Al components of ups vans etc, etc.
The dental thing is a way for dentists to make more money
by scaring you. The amount of vapor released by amalgam
fillings is essentially zip, but the amount of money in gold
crowns to replace said fillings is very significant, especially
to dentists who are in the business of "selling smiles" rather than
in administering dental care.
/mark