News

PRESS CONFERENCE ADVISORY - 4/17/00

WHEELABRATOR PROMOTES SAFE THERMOMETER EXCHANGE
Company Program Will Significantly Reduce Mercury in Waste

Wheelabrator Technologies Inc. announced today that it will provide New Hampshire and Vermont residents in communities served by two of its municipal waste combustion facilities with new digital thermometers in exchange for conventional mercury-based devices. The Company will conduct the program in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) at the trash-to-energy facilities Wheelabrator operates in Penacook and Claremont, New Hampshire. DES Commissioner Robert Varney will join Company officials today in announcing the new initiative at a press conference at the Penacook facility beginning today at 2:30 p.m.

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that occurs naturally in the environment and which has been widely used for well over a century in the manufacture of consumer, industrial, medical, and other products. The disposal of mercury-bearing products in municipal solid waste systems poses a risk of contaminating air and water resources and, ultimately, of impacting public health. Nationwide industry and government initiatives over the past decade have yielded significant reductions in the use of mercury in materials, its disposal in municipal waste streams, and its subsequent emissions into the environment.

The Wheelabrator program will even further reduce the amount of mercury in New Hampshire and Vermont trash. The Penacook facility receives up to 500 tons per day of mixed municipal waste from Concord and more than two dozen surrounding towns. Twenty-nine New Hampshire and Vermont communities in the Connecticut River Valley deliver 200 tons per day of waste to the Claremont plant. According to DES Commissioner Robert Varney, "It is estimated that thermometers tossed into the trash account for more than 100 pounds of mercury in New Hampshire trash every year. This initiative will help reduce that amount substantially, providing additional protection for New Hampshire citizens."

Wheelabrator has been a national industry leader in addressing mercury pollution by advancing scientific research, conducting successful multi-state button battery and thermometer recycling efforts, and providing comprehensive public education programs. While its 16 trash-to-energy facilities all meet strict federal and state requirements for controlling mercury emissions, the Company remains committed to reducing mercury at its source before it makes its way into the solid waste stream. Wheelabrator joins in this new effort with New Hampshire DES, which has a proven track record of successfully protecting the region's citizens and environment.

For more information about this program, call Ray Soulard or Ted Clark at 603-753-8411.

More News