MERCURY MANOMETER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM UPDATE

Last year, the Northwest Vermont Solid Waste Management District (NWVSWD) in partnership with the Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VDAFM) received a grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) and Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) to remove, replace and dispose of a fixed number of mercury manometers on operating dairy farms located within the Lake Champlain Basin.

Background

A 1999 Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food and Markets survey of the state's 1,760 active dairy farms uncovered 84 mercury-containing manometers within the Lake Champlain Basin. Each manometer contains approximately one pound of mercury, bringing the current total to approximately 84 pounds of this highly toxic, mobile, persistent and bioaccumulative Group 1 Toxic Substance of Concern ⁽¹⁾ dispersed throughout the Basin. Mercury, a naturally occurring element is a silver liquid that expands and contracts evenly with temperature and pressure changes, making it ideal for use in a vacuum gauge (manometer) on a dairy farm. Continuous releases occur as mercury volatilizes from the end of the apparatus open to the atmosphere (Figure 1), and possibly during routine servicing of the mercury in the manometer. These mercury vapors once in the atmosphere will be transported for ultimate deposition onto the Lake and adjacent areas. Four grams of atmospheric mercury are enough to contaminate a small to medium size lake such that the fish within it are unfit for consumption by women of reproductive age. One mercury manometer contains 450 grams (1 pound) of mercury. In addition to volatilization, mercury spills could occur in the milk room and have the potential to migrate to surface or ground water adjacent to or beneath the farm for ultimate discharge into Lake Champlain.

Health Risks Associated with Mercury Exposure

Exposure to mercury can result in long-term damage to the kidneys, liver and central nervous system. Inhalation of the odorless, invisible mercury vapors may pose a health risk to individuals working in the same room as the manometer. Young children and developing fetuses' are most at risk. The unintended release of mercury from a manometer poses a health risk to the farmer, farm families, livestock and residents as well as visitors who consume fish from within the Basin. Sensitive Basin ecosystems are also at risk.

Why Should I Replace My Mercury Containing Manometer?

VDAFM encouraged Vermont's Dairy farmers located in the Lake Champlain Basin to take advantage of this subsidized opportunity to protect farmers, their animals, and others. While mercury is a unique element with many useful properties, it is toxic to humans and animals. Rain and wastewater discharge have already deposited mercury in all of our local rivers and streams, and into Lake Champlain. Through the process of bioaccumulation, mercury passes up the food chain, and will eventually get into the fish that you and others in your family may eat. Samples taken from Lake Champlain over the last few years have shown that 95 percent of the fish taken have high enough mercury levels in them to force the Vermont Department of Health to issue fish consumption advisories.

This free exchange program was part of a comprehensive strategy to help reduce the overall amount of mercury in Vermont over the next few years. By participating in this program, farmers helped remove almost one pound of mercury that may have otherwise been released into the environment and into the Lake.

Funding was available on a first come first serve basis to Vermont dairy farmers who had a mercury manometer on their vacuum line. The grant paid 100 percent of the cost of a farmer's Dairy Equipment Service Provider's visit to his/her farm, removal of the existing mercury-containing manometer and replacing it with a mercury-free manometer of the farmer's choice. If a dairy farmer had a mercury-containing manometer which he/she no longer used, their Dairy Equipment Service Provider removed it for free.

How Do I Know if my Manometer Contains Mercury?

A mercury manometer, or vacuum gauge, is either a U-shaped (Figure 1) or I-shaped glass tube, with a silver liquid inside of it. The liquid, mercury, moves up and down relative to the vacuum created by your milking machine, and is read from marks along the side of the glass. Non-mercury manometers have a dial or a digital read-out on them.

Who Actually Replaced the Mercury Manometers?

The dairy farmer's regular Dairy Equipment Service Provider did the job. The service dealer is familiar with the farmer's equipment, so who better to use? The mercury from the manometer was handled by a trained professional for final disposition.

What if I No Longer Use My Manometer?

Farmers who no longer used their manometers, and did not want a new one, were still able to take advantage of this program to have their old mercury manometer taken away. An abandoned or unused mercury manometer has more potential of being spilled into the environment than one that is being looked at daily. Service Providers went to dairy farms and remove the gauge free of charge, ridding the farmer of a potential health hazard and a future liability.

Program Status to Date

The Mercury Manometer Replacement Program has been a very successful venture. To date seventy-seven (77) manometers have been removed from Lake Champlain Basin Dairy Farms. This is very near the partners' program goal of 84 mercury containing dairy manometers. It is expected that within the next two months the partners will have reached and possibly exceeded that original goal. The program has had a direct and immediate impact in the Lake Champlain Basin, protecting the health of participating dairy farmers, their herds and the environment. The NWVSWD and its partners began this project on June 1, 2000. Since our original article that was carried in all of the local newspapers within the Basin, and in Agriview, the program partners have run several more newspaper articles, and has been mentioned in a number of others. More important, this program was featured on the weekly WPTZ program "Lake Champlain 2000," and again in the one-half hour special "Mercury in the Environment," again on WPTZ. This program has been well received by all of the participants and the dairy farmers that have taken advantage of the free services. Not only has this program provided the dairy farms of Vermont with a safer, mercury free alternative, it has allowed the Solid Waste Districts of Vermont an opportunity to reach out to the local dairy farms and help educate them about other hazardous waste programs that are offered. It is hoped that through these open lines of communication that Vermont's Solid Waste Districts can further work with the dairy farms and help them with other toxic and solid waste issues.

Encountered Problems

The Program's largest problem was the initial mailing to the dairy farmers. The mailing, although accurate and informative, may have been too detailed. It was this detail that led some farmers to ignore the mailing and not immediately participate in the program. In addition, farmers received the mailing introducing the program prior to Service Providers agreeing to participate in the program. Farmers were ready to go, however not all Service Providers were, hence this lag time in signing up for the program created a delay in getting it off the ground. The program partners take the blame for this mix up! Once Service Providers signed on, farmers were able to schedule the switches, or Service Providers contacted farmers they were aware of that had mercury-containing manometers. These tactics was successful and the manometers were rapidly replaced.

Timing of the program was also mentioned previously as a problem. During the summer, most Service Providers and dairy farmers are too busy to worry about programs such as these. However, during the slower fall and winter months, the Service Providers had more time, and were able to schedule more work. This program, therefore, fit very well into the fall schedules of the Service Providers. The initial intent of the summer schedule for this program was to ensure that the Service Providers could use a local Household Hazardous Waste collection, (the majority of which are held during summer months) sponsored by their local Solid Waste District for the proper disposal of the mercury items. This scheduling problem was eliminated, however, when it was decided that the Northeast Kingdom Vermont Solid Waste District (NEKSWD) could use its licensed vehicle to make "milk runs" to pick up the mercury manometers from the Service Providers. So far, two such runs have been completed and all of the replaced mercury manometers to date have been collected and disposed of properly.

Next Step

The NWVSWD has requested and received a contract extension. The original end date for this program was January 31, 2001, but a new end date has been given of June 31, 2001. This extended time period will allow the program partners to review the current list of participating farms and compare it to the original data list that was compiled, and to replace ones that were missed from VDAFM's original survey with the remaining funds. Our goals are to discover how many farms are still left with mercury manometers on them, and to eventually determine how many mercury manometers have been abandoned on non-operative farms. Initial data is suggesting that for every two manometers that have been replaced that we previously were aware of, one has been replaced that we did not know existed. This would suggest that for the original 84 manometers that this program targeted, there are an additional 27 manometers that were never accounted for.

Partners intend to apply for additional grant funding from LCBP to remove the additional manometers. Simultaneously, VDAFM is requesting via the Vermont Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution, a $40,000.00 appropriation from the Legislature to fund discovery and removal of the remaining mercury containing manometers.

Other Items Of Interest

The Mercury Manometer Replacement Program has created some positive spin in New England. Massachusetts and New Hampshire have been in touch with program partners requesting information about the program. In particular, the Environmental Departments of both states have requested copies of our original proposals and have continuously called for updates on our progress. It is hoped that both of these neighboring states can create a similar program and remove mercury from their dairy farms. Furthermore, this program also continuously updates the Vermont Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution and has a positive impact on their policies.

This program has proved that through determination and leg work, the State of Vermont can eliminate mercury in hard to reach communities. We hope to continue this progress in the future.

1. Opportunities for Action: An Evolving Plan for the Future of the Lake Champlain Basin. Pollution, Prevention, Control & Restoration Plan, U.S. EPA. Draft June 1996.

Annie Macmillan, Toxicologist, Vermont Department of Agriculture, Food and Markets