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Mercury-Containing Products

What are Mercury-Containing Products?

Some household and industrial products like thermostats, thermometers, and other measuring devices, contain components that use mercury. Most of these products have a mercury-free alternative available.

Product	Amount of Mercury	Alternative
Thermostat	~5 grams per thermostat	digital thermostat
Thermometer	~1 gram	digital thermometer
*Compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL)	~5 mg	LED bulbs
*Linear fluorescent lights	~4.4 to 15 mg per light	LED bulbs

*Currently there is no viable alternative to fluorescent lights (LED bulbs contain no mercury but are expensive).

Using energy-saving fluorescent lights will reduce the amount of mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants. Bottom line--keep buying CFLs!

Don't forget to recycle your old mercury-containing products! Most communities hold Household Hazardous Waste Days where you recycle fluorescent lights, thermometers and thermostats. Contact your local health department for more information.