(a) Except as provided in section 22a-618, except for products that contain a mercury-containing lamp used for backlighting that cannot feasibly be removed by the purchaser and except for specialized lighting used in the entertainment industry such as metal halide lights, no person shall offer for sale or distribute for promotional purposes any mercury-added product if: (1) After July 1, 2004, the mercury content of the product exceeds one gram in the case of fabricated mercury-added products or two hundred fifty parts per million in the case of formulated mercury-added products; (2) on and after July 1, 2006, the mercury content of the product exceeds one hundred milligrams in the case of fabricated mercury-added products or fifty parts per million in the case of formulated mercury-added products, except for high intensity discharge lamps containing more than one hundred milligrams of mercury, but less than one gram of mercury, including, but not limited to, metal halide lamps, mercury vapor lamps, mercury capillary lamps, mercury-xenon short-arc lamps and mercury short-arc lamps; and (3) on and after July 1, 2013, high intensity discharge lamps containing more than one hundred milligrams of mercury, but less than one gram of mercury, including, but not limited to, metal halide lamps, mercury vapor lamps, mercury capillary lamps, mercury-xenon short-arc lamps and mercury short-arc lamps.

(b) Not later than July 1, 2003, the commissioner shall convene a working group which shall include, but not be limited to, government representatives from other northeastern states to (1) evaluate advances in technology and make recommendations regarding the regulation of mercury-added products that have a mercury content in excess of ten milligrams or ten parts per million but less than one hundred milligrams or fifty parts per million and specialized lighting used in the entertainment industry such as metal halide lights, and (2) evaluate the uses of lamps that have a mercury content of not less than one hundred milligrams and not more than one gram and alternatives to such lamps and make recommendations regarding the regulation of lamps that have a mercury content of not less than one hundred milligrams and not more than one gram. Within such working group, the commissioner shall convene a subgroup which shall include, but not be limited to, industry trade groups for mercury-containing lamps to develop a plan in accordance with section 22a-620 to provide for the collection of such lamps. The working group shall finalize its recommendations regarding subdivision (1) of this subsection and the subgroup shall make its recommendations not later than July 1, 2004. The working group shall make its recommendations regarding subdivision (2) of this subsection not later than January 1, 2005.

(c) In the case of a product that contains one or more mercury-added products as a component, the phase-out limits specified in subsection (a) of this section apply to each component part or parts and not to the entire product.

(P.A. 02-90, S. 6; P.A. 04-151, S. 10; P.A. 06-181, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 02-90 effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 04-151 amended Subsec. (b) to designate existing provision re duties of working group as Subdiv. (1), add Subdiv. (2) re evaluation of uses of lamps that have a mercury content of not less than one hundred milligrams and not more than one gram, require working group to make recommendations on evaluation under Subdiv. (2) not later than January 1, 2005, and make conforming changes, effective May 21, 2004; P.A. 06-181 amended Subsec. (a) to add exception in Subdiv. (2) re high intensity discharge lamps containing more than one hundred milligrams of mercury, but less than one gram of mercury, and to add Subdiv. (3) prohibiting the offer for sale or distribution for promotional purposes, on and after July 1, 2013, of high intensity discharge lamps containing more than one hundred milligrams of mercury, but less than one gram of mercury, effective July 1, 2006.