GM Says Mercury Cleanup Lies with 'Old' Company
By Bill Visnic August 16, 2009General Motors Co. probably won't win many friends who are concerned about pollution from mercury with its position the "new" GM won't continue participating in an auto-industry coalition to recycle the mercury used in many auto components.
Tens of millions of mercury switches were used for lights and braking systems in the 1980s and 1990s and excesses of the toxic metal have been linked to neurological problems in fetuses and children. A large proportion of the switches were in GM-made vehicles.
The auto industry formed the End of Life Vehicle Solutions Corp. (ELVS) in 2005 to stop escape of mercury from vehicles sent to salvage-yard crushers. The ELVS program is slated to run through 2017 and reportedly has recycled 5,600 pounds of mercury from some 2.5 million automotive switches.
But GM says the "new" company formed when it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy no longer makes vehicles with mercury switches and thus does not plan to pay to be a part of ELVS, a responsibility it says lies with the "old" GM that continues to liquidate through the bankruptcy court.
The Associated Press reported that ELVS executive director Mary Bills said GM formerly paid $700,000 to $1 million annually into the program. The new GM does not intend to continue paying and it is not yet known if the old GM will have the means - or the desire - to continue in the partnership.
"We're surprised that GM, who wants to have this great, green image, would do this," Bills told the AP.
Thirteen automakers are in the ELVS program and their fees are based on U.S. market share and how much each company's vehicles contributed to the mercury-switch total. Fifteen states require switch recovery and 34 more have voluntary switch-recycling programs.
The issue has come to prominence because of the mandate from the recent "Cash-For-Clunkers" program that all the vehicles traded-in by consumers must be scrapped, meaning that hundreds of thousands of vehicles (many of which were roadworthy) will be forced to be scrapped. - Bill Visnic
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