How One Little State (Vermont) Can Make a Difference

Fluorescent lamp makers recently announced a nationwide program to label fluorescent and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps that contain mercury, as well as their packaging. Is this a case of manufacturers coming to terms with mercury toxicity? Unfortunately not. Although lamp sales in Vermont account for less than $2 million worth of fluorescent lamps purchased each year – a tiny percentage of national lamp sales – Vermont passed a law in 1998 that requires labeling on all lamps sold in state that contain mercury. The lamp manufacturer trade association, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), promptly filed a lawsuit asking how “tiny Vermont” would “purport to dictate worldwide lamp labeling requirements.” They argued the Vermont law violated the Commerce Clause as well as other Constitutional provisions. NEMA won the first round but lost in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and again when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear their case. Then NEMA made their announcement about a nationwide program. “A harmonized national label is the only labeling approach that makes sense,” said NEMA president Malcolm O’Hagan in a prepared statement. “Lamp manufacturers make their products for national and international markets and do not control the distribution system. Disposal […]

Read More