In his 1865 book, Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland, Lewis Carroll introduced a character called the Mad
Hatter. Although Carroll’s Mad Hatter was fictional, the strange and
unpredictable behavior he displayed was not uncommon among people
employed in the hat industry in the 1800s. Mercury nitrate was
used in the hat making process and constant exposure to the chemical
eventually caused the hatters to develop mercury poisoning. While
the connection between mercury poisoning and the hatters’ behavior was
not understood at the time, the term "mad as a hatter" was in
common use.
Mercury is no longer used in the hat making process;
however, it is used in the manufacture of many other products, including
thermometers, batteries, and fluorescent lamps. A significant
amount of mercury contamination today comes from fluorescent lamps
discarded as solid waste. It takes only 25 discarded fluorescent tubes
to contaminate a 20-acre lake. Even if your state does not have
regulations governing the disposal of mercury-containing products, you
should always make sure that you dispose of such products
properly. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),
extreme violations can result in civil or administrative penalties of up
to $25,000 per day per violation. States may also impose fines, H
& H Industries, an internationally known lighting company, will not
only sell you high-quality lighting products, we will also help you
dispose of them safely when they finally do burn out. Phone or
email us, and we'll tell you how.
