| Chapter 291 |
| 2023 -- S 1119 Enacted 06/22/2023 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- MERCURY REDUCTION AND EDUCATION ACT |
Introduced By: Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio |
| Date Introduced: June 13, 2023 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Findings. |
| The general assembly finds that: |
| (1) Mercury is a persistent and toxic pollutant that bioaccumulates in the environment and |
| poses a serious threat to humans, particularly young children, and wildlife. |
| (2) Human exposure to mercury can result in nervous system, kidney, and liver damage |
| and impaired childhood development. |
| (3) All fluorescent lamps contain mercury and can create an immediate public health and |
| environmental hazard when they accidentally break during installation, use, transportation, storage, |
| recycling, or disposal. |
| (4) Light-emitting diode (LED) replacements for fluorescent lamps do not contain mercury. |
| (5) LED replacements for fluorescent lamps are widely available for the range of |
| fluorescent lamps used to light businesses and homes and last two (2) to three (3) times longer. |
| SECTION 2. Chapter 23-24.9 of the General Laws entitled "Mercury Reduction and |
| Education Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 23-24.9-6.1. Prohibition on fluorescent lamps. |
| (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: |
| (1) “Compact fluorescent lamp” means a compact low-pressure, mercury-containing, |
| electric-discharge light source in which a fluorescent coating transforms some of the ultraviolet |
| energy generated by the mercury discharge into visible light, and includes all of the following |
| characteristics: |
| (i) One base (endcap) of any type, including, but not limited to, screw, bayonet, two (2) |
| pins, and four (4) pins; |
| (ii) Integrally ballasted or nonintegrally ballasted; |
| (iii) 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); |
| (iv) All tube diameters and all tube lengths; and |
| (v) All lamp sizes and shapes for directional and nondirectional installations including, but |
| not limited to, PL, spiral, twin tube, triple twin, 2D, U-bend, and circular. |
| (2) “Linear fluorescent lamp” means a low-pressure, mercury-containing, electric- |
| discharge light source in which a fluorescent coating transforms some of the ultraviolet energy |
| generated by the mercury discharge into visible light, and includes all of the following |
| characteristics: |
| (i) Two (2) bases (endcaps) of any type, including single-pin, two (2)-pin, or recessed |
| double contact; |
| (ii) 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); |
| (iii) All tube diameters, including, but not limited to, T5, T8, T10, and T12; |
| (iv) All tube lengths from one-half (1/2) to eight (8.0) feet inclusive; and |
| (v) All lamp shapes, including, but not limited to, linear, U-bend, and circular. |
| (b) On and after January 1, 2024, it shall be a violation of this section to offer for final sale, |
| sell at final sale, or distribute in this state as a new manufactured product a screw or bayonet base |
| type compact fluorescent lamp. |
| (c) On and after January 1, 2025, it shall be a violation of this section to offer for final sale, |
| sell at final sale, or distribute in this state as a new manufactured product a pin-base type compact |
| fluorescent lamp or a linear fluorescent lamp. |
| (d) This section does not apply to the following: |
| (1) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for image capture and projection, including: |
| (i) Photocopying; |
| (ii) Printing, directly or in preprocessing; |
| (iii) Lithography; |
| (iv) Film and video projection; and |
| (v) Holography. |
| (2) A lamp that has a high proportion of ultraviolet light emission and is one of the |
| following: |
| (i) A lamp with high ultraviolet content that has ultraviolet power greater than two (2) |
| milliwatts per kilolumen (mW/klm); |
| (ii) A lamp for germicidal use, such as the destruction of DNA, that emits a peak radiation |
| of approximately two hundred fifty-three and seven-tenths (253.7) nanometers; |
| (iii) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for disinfection or fly trapping from which |
| either the radiation power emitted between two hundred fifty (250) and three hundred fifteen (315) |
| nanometers represents at least five percent (5%) of, or the radiation power emitted between three |
| hundred fifteen (315) and four hundred (400) nanometers represents at least twenty percent (20%) |
| percent of, the total radiation power emitted between two hundred fifty (250) and eight hundred |
| (800) nanometers; |
| (iv) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for the generation of ozone where the |
| primary purpose is to emit radiation at approximately one hundred eighty-five and one-tenth |
| (185.1) nanometers; |
| (v) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for coral zooxanthellae symbiosis from |
| which the radiation power emitted between four hundred (400) and four hundred eighty (480) |
| nanometers represents at least forty percent (40%) of the total radiation power emitted between two |
| hundred fifty (250) and eight hundred (800) nanometers.; |
| (vi) Any ultraviolet lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in a sunlamp product, |
| as defined as a phototherapy product in subchapter J of title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, |
| as in effect on the effective date of this section. |
| (3) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in medical or veterinary diagnosis |
| or treatment, or in a medical device. |
| (4) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for use in the manufacturing or quality |
| control of pharmaceutical products. |
| (5) A lamp designed and marketed exclusively for spectroscopy and photometric |
| applications, such as UV-visible spectroscopy, molecular spectroscopy, atomic absorption |
| spectroscopy, nondispersive infrared (NDIR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), medical analysis, |
| ellipsometry, layer thickness measurement, process monitoring, or environmental monitoring. |
| (6) A lamp used by academic and research institutions for conducting research projects and |
| experiments. |
| (7) A compact fluorescent lamp used to replace a lamp in a motor vehicle manufactured on |
| or before January 1, 2020. |
| (e)(1) The department may cause periodic inspections to be made of distributors or retailers |
| in order to determine compliance with the provisions of this section. The department shall |
| investigate complaints received concerning violations of this section. |
| (2) If the department finds that any person has committed a violation of any provision of |
| this section, the department shall issue a warning to such person. Any person who commits a |
| violation after the issuance of such warning and any further violations committed by such person |
| shall be subject to a civil penalty pursuant to the provisions of § 23-24.9-16. Each lamp offered, |
| sold, or distributed in violation of subsection (b) of this section shall constitute a separate violation, |
| each violation shall constitute a separate offense, and each day that such violation occurs shall |
| constitute a separate offense. |
| (3) If the department finds repeated violations have occurred, it shall report the results of |
| such violations to the attorney general. The attorney general may institute proceedings to seek an |
| injunction in superior court to enforce the provisions of this section. |
| (4) The department may adopt such further regulations as necessary to ensure the proper |
| implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this section. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC003220 |
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