Working in Europe for Everyone in Yorkshire and the Humber

6th June 2007 - MEPs ban new mercury barometers
Yorkshire and the Humber MEP Linda McAvan today welcomed an EU-wide ban on old-fashioned mercury barometers, which comes as part of global efforts to reduce the amount of mercury in everyday life - and slammed opponents of the ban as misguided.
Ms McAvan's comments came after a decision in the European Parliament's Environment Committee supported the view of the European Commission and the 27 EU national governments that barometers should not be exempt from rules banning mercury from non-essential use in new measuring devices, such as thermometers.

For a full briefing and answers to common questions on the ban, please click here (PDF 72kB)

The dangers of mercury poisoning are well known and use of the chemical has declined in recent years. However, last month a school in the USA had to be evacuated after a mercury barometer was broken. A study in the British Medical Journal this year reported that 1 in 6 women have mercury concentrations in their bodies above the commonly accepted safe level.

Linda McAvan - who serves on the European Parliament's Environment Committee - said;

"We know that mercury is dangerous. Long gone are the days when school children played with mercury. The overwhelming majority of modern barometers are not made with mercury. Where we don't need it we should get rid of it, and to pretend otherwise is to leave the door open to more people coming into contact with the chemical and falling ill."

And she is strongly critical of opponents of the ban;

"The overwhelming consensus amongst EU governments and the scientific committee is that we should ban mercury where we don't need to be using it. Some British MEPs have chosen to ignore the science and try to pretend that this is about the EU meddling with a British tradition - the barometer. They are misguided. This ban will not affect people buying new modern barometers for their homes, and the very small number of companies making new mercury barometers will have two years to adjust their businesses. This is about taking sensible precautions to protect public health and the environment."