§ 7102. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Agency” means the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

(2) “Elemental mercury” means the chemical symbol Hg. Elemental Hg is a silvery-white liquid (at room temperature) with an atomic number of 80 and an atomic mass of 200.57.

(3) “Fabricated mercury-added product” means a product that consists of a combination of individual components that combine to make a single unit, including mercury-added measuring devices, lamps, and switches.

(4) “Formulated mercury-added product” means a product that is sold as a consistent mixture of chemicals to which mercury or a mercury compound has been intentionally added in order to provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or quality, or to perform a specific function, or for any other reason. This includes laboratory chemicals, cleaning products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and coating materials. For the purposes of this chapter, formulated mercury-added product does not include pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical products, biological products, or any substance that may be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 301 et seq. “Biological product” means a virus, therapeutic serum, toxin, antitoxin, vaccine, blood, blood component or derivative, allergenic product or an analogous product, or asphenamine (a derivative of arsphenamine) or any other trivalent organic arsenic compound used for the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease or condition of human beings.

(5) “Large appliance” includes the following items: refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, ranges, water heaters, dishwashers, freezers, microwave ovens, air conditioners, portable heaters, and other similar domestic and commercial appliances as may be identified by the Agency by rule.

(6)(A) “Manufacturer” means any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture that:

(i) produces a mercury-added product; or

(ii) serves as an importer or domestic distributor of a mercury-added product produced outside the United States.

(B) This definition shall not apply to retailers for whom importing is not their primary business.

(C) In the case of a multicomponent mercury-added product, the manufacturer is the last manufacturer to produce or assemble the product.

(D) In the case of mercury-containing thermostats, the manufacturer is the original equipment manufacturer.

(7) “Mercury-added component” means a mercury-added product that is incorporated into another product to form a fabricated mercury-added product, including electrical switches, relays, and lamps.

(8) “Mercury-added novelty” means a mercury-added product intended mainly for personal or household enjoyment or adornment. Mercury-added novelties include items intended for use as practical jokes, figurines, adornments, toys, games, cards, ornaments, yard statues and figures, candles, jewelry, holiday decorations, items of apparel (including footwear), and similar products.

(9) “Mercury-added product” means a product, a commodity, a chemical, a product with one or more components, or a product that cannot function without the use of that component, that contains mercury or a mercury compound intentionally added to the product, commodity, chemical, or component in order to provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or quality, or to perform a specific function, or for any other reason. These products include formulated mercury-added products and fabricated mercury-added products.

(10) “Mercury fever thermometer” means a mercury-added product that is used for measuring body temperature. This does not include a fever thermometer with a mercury-added button cell battery.

(11) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle propelled by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, such as an automobile, van, truck, motorized construction equipment, motorized recreational vehicle, motorcycle, or forklift.

(12) “End-of-life motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that has not been intentionally flattened, crushed, shredded, or baled if sold, given, or otherwise conveyed to a motor vehicle recycler or scrap metal recycling facility for the purpose of recycling.

(13) “Mercury-added vehicle switch” means a capsule, commonly known as a bullet, containing mercury, that is part of a convenience light switch assembly for motor vehicle trunks and hoods or is part of the anti-lock brake system.

(14) “Motor vehicle recycler” means an individual or entity engaged in the business of acquiring, dismantling, parts recycling, or destroying six or more end-of-life motor vehicles in a year.

(15) “Scrap metal recycling facility” means a facility at a fixed location that uses equipment to process and refabricate scrap metal into prepared grades and principally produces scrap iron, steel, or nonferrous metallic scrap for sale.

(16) “Mercury-containing thermostat” means a product or device that uses a mercury switch to sense and control room temperature through communication with heating, ventilating, or air-conditioning equipment. “Mercury-containing thermostat” includes thermostats used to sense and control room temperature in residential, commercial, industrial, and other buildings but does not include a thermostat used to sense and control temperature as part of a manufacturing process.

(17) “Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, cooperative, association, firm, sole proprietorship, governmental agency, or other entity.

(18) “Thermostat retailer” means a person who sells thermostats of any kind directly to homeowners or other nonprofessionals through any selling or distribution mechanism, including sales using the Internet or catalogues. A retailer may also be a wholesaler if it meets the definition of wholesaler.

(19) “Thermostat wholesaler” means a person that is engaged in the distribution and wholesale sale of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning components to contractors who install heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning components.

(20) “Four-foot linear fluorescent lamp” means a general purpose, low-pressure, mercury-containing, electric-discharge light source in which a fluorescing coating transforms some of the ultraviolet energy generated by the mercury discharge into visible light, and includes all of the following characteristics:

(A) two bases or endcaps of any type, including single-pin, two-pin, or recessed double contact;

(B) light emission between a correlated color temperature of 1700K and 24000K and a Duv of +0.024 and -0.024 in the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) Uniform Color Space (CAM02-UCS);

(C) all tube diameters, including T2, T5, T8, T10, and T12; and

(D) four feet in length. (Added 2005, No. 13, § 1; amended 2005, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2007, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2021, No. 120 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. July 1, 2022.)