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Swap Your Mercury Fever Thermometer For A New Digital Thermometer The Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA) is sponsoring its second Mercury Fever Thermometer Swap of the year. Throughout the month of October, in order to address the issue of mercury contamination and help control the spread of mercury into the environment, the BCUA, in a joint public-private partnership with United Water, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and the Bergen County Department of Health Services, will collect old mercury thermometers and replace them with new digital thermometers, donated by BD. In May, BCUA collected more than 2,850 mercury fever thermometers from Bergen County residents. They hope to double that amount in October. Once considered a necessity in caring for a loved one, the mercury fever thermometer today poses a health risk if the thermometer breaks or is disposed of improperly. These health risks can include damage to the nervous system, liver, kidney, muscles, and vision. In addition, mercury thermometers are considered one of the largest sources of mercury discarded annually in municipal solid waste, estimated at 17 tons of mercury per year. The pollution potential is staggering as less than one gram of mercury from a mercury thermometer can contaminate all the fish in a 20-acre lake and millions of gallons of water. "As part of our household hazardous waste program, the Bergen County Utilities Authority is working cooperatively to remove old, unnecessary mercury fever thermometers in Bergen County and replace them with more environmentally safe thermometers, said Bryan J. Christiansen, BCUA Chairman. It is our goal to help reduce mercury in our waste water and solid waste stream. Once we educate Bergen County residents on the importance of mercury reduction and show them how easy it is to reduce it, we can effectively protect our environment. Bergen County Mercury Fever Thermometer Swap Program Dates October 23, 2004 - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Five Sites! ¨ Leonia Overpeck County Park, Fort Lee Road ¨ Lyndhurst Riverside County Park, Riverside Avenue ¨ Mahwah Law & Public Safety Institute, 281 Campgaw Road ¨ Paramus Dunkerhook Park, Paramus Road ¨ Woodcliff Lake Wood Dale County Park, Prospect Avenue Entire Month of October Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to noon ¨ Moonachie Bergen County Utilities Authority, Control Building, Food of Empire Boulevard. Please call 201-807-8696 or 201-807-5823 for an
appointment. Tuesday and Thursdays in October, 9 to 11 a.m. ¨ Paramus Bergen County Dept. of Health Services, Bergen County Community Services Building, 327 East Ridgewood Avenue Note: Limited supply of digital thermometers are available on a first-come, first-served basis. |