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| 5. Mercury-added thermostats. After January 1, 2006, a person | may not sell or offer to sell or distribute for promotional | purposes a mercury-added thermostat except for a thermostat used | for manufacturing or industrial purposes and except for a | thermostat used by a blind or visually impaired person. A | manufacturer of mercury-added thermostats may apply to the | commissioner prior to January 1, 2003 for an exemption from the | provisions of this subsection for one or more specific uses of a | mercury-added thermostat. The Commissioner of Environmental | Protection may grant an exemption with or without conditions upon | finding that: |
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| A. The manufacturer has demonstrated that a system exists | for the proper collection, transportation and processing of | the mercury-added thermostat at the end of its life; and |
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| B. The specific use or uses of the mercury-added thermostat | provide a net benefit to the environment, public health or | public safety when compared to available nonmercury | alternatives. |
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| For the purposes of this subsection, a "mercury-added 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-added | 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. |
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| | Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §1661-C, sub-§§6 to 8 are enacted to read: |
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| | 6.__Instruments and measuring devices.__Effective July 1, | 2006, a person may not sell or offer to sell or distribute the | following mercury-added products: |
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| B.__An esophageal dilator, bougie tube or gastrointestinal | tube; |
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| E.__A hygrometer or psychrometer; |
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| F.__A manometer other than a manometer prohibited from sale | under subsection 2; |
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