Ann Arbor, MI Mercury Thermometer Ban

Ann Arbor, Mich Bans Mercury Fever Thermometers

Type: Ordinance

Status: Adopted

Date: July 10, 2000

Summary:

On July 10, 2000, the City Council of Ann Arbor, Michigan, approved a new Ordinance to add Chapter 69 Mercury Thermometers (Ordinance No. 31-00) to the city code - effective as of July 26, 2000.

The new ordinance bans the retail sale, importation and manufacture of mercury fever thermometers within the city limits. Ann Arbor becomes the first city in Michigan and the second in the Great Lakes basin to enact such an ordinance. The city of Duluth, Minn. and the City and county of San Francisco passed similar measures earlier in 2000.

Ann Arbor's ban is consistent with many national mercury elimination initiatives in healthcare. Mercury thermometers are not used or dispensed at the University of Michigan Health System or St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, and both institutions have pledged to eliminate mercury and mercury waste in their medical practices. Elsewhere in Michigan, spectrum health care in Grand Rapids has gained national attention for its efforts to go mercury-free.

In addition to state-level initiatives, in 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Hospital Association signed a memorandum of understanding with a goal of virtually eliminating mercury from healthcare.