Lamps and other products containing mercury
Products that contain mercury may be found in your home, at work or at school. These products include those exempted under the Products Containing Mercury Regulations, such as lamps, as well as “legacy products”, such as thermostats or switches in gas furnaces. Legacy products refers to products that are prohibited from import and manufacture under the Regulations but are still safe to use. It is important to know what products containing mercury are to safely handle them and dispose of them in an environmentally conscious way.
Did you know? In Canada, different ways to dispose of products containing mercury are available depending on where you live. For provinces with a light-recycling extended producer responsibility program, visit Product Care Recycling for your closest depot. For other provinces and territories and for other products, contact your local municipality for safe disposal opportunities near you.
Lamps containing mercury
Lamps are the most common type of product containing mercury in Canada. To know if a lamp contains mercury, look for the symbol “Hg” on the bulb, or for the statement “Contains mercury” on the packaging or its manual. Given the availability of LED lamps, the federal government is phasing out the import, manufacture and in some cases the sale of lamps containing mercury used for general lighting purposes.
The most common types of lamps that contain mercury are as follows:
- Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL): they are similar in size to an incandescent bulb but use a coiled or U-shaped fluorescent tube to produce light. They are the most common type of lamps containing mercury found in our homes.
- Straight (or linear) fluorescent lamps (LFL): they are sealed glass tubes containing mercury in vapour and powder forms. They are the most common type of lamps containing mercury in Canada. They are widely used in offices, schools, stores and warehouses, and to a lesser extent in homes.
- High intensity discharge (HID) lamps: they include metal halide and high-pressure sodium vapour lamps. They are similar in appearance, but the intensity of their light varies. They consist of a glass envelope with a pinched quartz glass tube and various metal electrodes inside. They are the large and bright lamps that are still commonly used for street and highway lighting, in parking lots, arenas, stadiums and farmyards.
There are other types of lamps containing mercury used in Canada, which also need to be safely handled and disposed of properly:
- some types of neon signs
- cold-cathode fluorescent light bulbs (CCFL) used in digital displays in older models of televisions, monitors and vehicles
- headlamps on some models of automobiles
- lights used in tanning beds
- some types of black lights
- ultraviolet germicidal lamps used to sterilize water, air or surfaces
- some grow lights used for plants or reptiles
As a reminder, please make sure you know what to do in case of accidental breakage, as a broken lamp poses a risk to your health and the environment. You can find useful information regarding mercury’s health hazards, safe handling, and first aid measures on the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety.
Dental amalgam
Dental amalgam is a silver-coloured mercury-containing product which many people know as 'silver fillings'. They are a combination of approximately equal amounts of elemental mercury and alloy powder, which contains other metals such as silver, tin, copper, and zinc. Mercury is used to bind the other compounds of dental amalgam together to form a hard, stable restorative material.
Dental amalgam was once commonly used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth, but their use has been steadily declining in Canda over the past decade. Dental amalgam capsules are still required for specific dental procedures, but bulk dental amalgam powders are now prohibited.
Legacy products containing mercury
Legacy products containing mercury are products that cannot be imported or manufactured in Canada, but are still safe to use.
Thermometers and other measuring devices
Thermometers containing mercury are easily identified by the silver colour of the material in the bulb. Mercury-free thermometers are either digital, infrared, or have red or blue material in the bulb. Other than thermometers, old measuring instruments such as barometers or manometers may still contain mercury and should be handled safely.
Thermostats
Thermostats containing mercury were used in controlling heating and cooling systems in residential and commercial settings. Carefully removing the front plate of the device and visually inspecting the uncovered components can usually identify thermostats that contain mercury. If there are glass tubes inside that contain a silver-coloured liquid, it is most probably mercury.
Switches
Switches containing mercury were a common part of gas furnaces and home appliances such as chest freezers and washing machines. If there is no button or tab that turns on and off the light, the appliance may contain mercury. These furnaces and appliances need to be handled as hazardous waste.
Batteries
Mercury-containing batteries generally consisted of the button cell type found in wrist watches, hearing aids, calculators, and various types of applications in labs, hospitals, and military and commercial facilities. Mercury-free alternatives have been available for decades.
Medical devices
Medical devices containing mercury were commonly used by practitioners in the past. These include sphygmomanometers to measure blood pressure and strain gauges to measure blood flow. Today, mercury-free alternatives are available for all of them.
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