BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1419
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1419 (Eggman)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 22, 2015) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 23, |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: | 5-0 | (August 25, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
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(E.S. & T.M.)
Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
SUMMARY: Provides that used, broken cathode ray tube (CRT)
panel glass and processed CRT panel glass that exceeds the total
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threshold limit concentration (TTLC) only for barium is not a
waste and is not subject to regulation by the Department of
Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) as a hazardous waste if that
panel glass meets certain requirements. Permits the use of that
CRT panel glass that exceeds the TTLC only for barium for
specified end uses.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of the bill,
and instead:
1)Define "cathode ray tube" or "CRT" as a vacuum tube or picture
tube used to convert an electrical signal into a visual image,
and define "CRT device" as any electronic device that contains
one or more CRTs including, but not limited to, computer
monitors, televisions, cash registers, and oscilloscopes.
2)Provide that used, broken CRT panel glass that exceeds the
total threshold limit concentration (TTLC) only for barium is
not a waste and is not subject to regulation by DTSC,
including the prohibition on the use of that glass in a manner
constituting disposal, if it is recycled and meets DTSC
regulatory requirements.
3)Provide that CRT panel glass without phosphor that exceeds the
TTLC only for barium is not a waste and is not subject to
regulation by DTSC, including the prohibition on the use of
that glass in a manner constituting disposal, if that glass
meets state and federal regulatory requirements.
4)Authorize CRT panel glass meeting the aforementioned
requirements and is recycled may be used only for 12 specified
end uses.
5)Authorize DTSC to prohibit any previously authorized end use
of CRT panel glass if DTSC determines that the end use
potentially poses environmental or public health harm.
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Require DTSC to notify the recyclers of the prohibition at
least 60 days prior to the effective date of the prohibition.
6)State that used, broken CRT panel glass and processed CRT
panel glass that exceeds the TTLC only for barium and that is
recycled is not subject to any requirement regarding export of
materials.
7)Notwithstanding the barium threshold, state that this bill
does not affect, in any manner, the regulations adopted
regulating the processing of CRT panel glass for disposal.
State that this bill does not affect the identification or
classification of a waste that is derived from the twelve end
use products listed.
8)Prohibit the exemptions in the bill from applying to any CRT
panel glass that is used to manufacture any product or
packaging intended to be used for food or food products for
which DTSC declares that that use may have a potential adverse
impact upon human health.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill authorized CalRecyle, under
specified conditions, to revoke the certification of a recycling
center certified under the California Beverage Container
Recycling and Litter Reduction Act.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, enactment of this bill could result in approximately
$85,000 (Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account) for
two years for DTSC to develop regulations, and minor, if any,
costs to the CalRecycle.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, new liquid crystal
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display (LCD) and light-emitting diode technology for
televisions and monitor screens has taken over the market and
demand for old-fashioned CRT devices has dropped dramatically.
The end use market for CRT glass generated from recycling scrap
CRTs has dried up and recyclers across the nation are struggling
with what to do with the glass. Complicating the issue even
further is that that the world's last CRT manufacturer, which
recycled as much as 57% of the CRT funnel and panel glass
generated in the country, announced that it would discontinue
CRT production this year, eliminating one of the last outlets
for this material. That has left many recyclers resorting to
stockpiling this material in hopes of finding new outlets in the
future. The author's intent with this bill is to reduce the
environmental risk inherent in the stockpiling and export of
used monitors by reducing regulatory hurdles in order to create
a recycling framework for CRT panel glass.
Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT): CRTs are the video display components
of televisions and computer monitors. Barium oxide is used in
CRTs to provide radiation protection in the neck and funnel.
Barium: According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, barium has been found to potentially cause
gastrointestinal disturbances and muscular weakness when people
are exposed to it at low levels. Barium oxide is also a skin
irritant. However, it is more dangerous when ingested. It can
cause nausea, diarrhea, muscle paralysis, cardiac arrhythmia,
and can cause death. When a waste exceeds the TTLC limits for
barium, it is classified as hazardous. For CRT glass, the
barium limit is 10,000 mg/kg.
E-Waste recycling in California: SB 20 (Sher), Chapter 526,
Statutes of 2003, known as the Electronic Waste Recycling Act
(EWRA) of 2003, was enacted to eliminate electronic waste
stockpiles and legacy devices, including waste CRT devices and
CRTs, by providing a comprehensive and innovative system for
their reuse, recycling, and proper and legal disposal.
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CRTs have largely been superseded by newer display technologies
such as LCD and plasma essentially making CRT-based computer
monitors and televisions a dying technology.
Approximately 200 million pounds of TVs are recycled annually in
California. About half of those include CRTs, which means
California's e-waste recycling program has generated more than
100 million pounds of residual CRT glass annually since it began
operation in 2005.
A key component of the EWRA has been a requirement that the
derived CRT glass be shipped to a destination authorized to
further treat that material, under the assumption (and implicit
hazardous waste management requirement) that the material would
eventually find an appropriate recycling application.
Additionally, some of the fee revenue collected under EWRA goes
to recyclers in the form of grants for the specific purpose of
recycling CRT glass.
The reduced demand for CRTs has diminished the number of
operating lead smelters and glass-to-glass recyclers accepting
CRTs. Today, there is only one lead smelter in the United
States and one glass-to-glass recycler, Videocon, located in
India. Absent recyclers to ship collected CRTs to, e-waste
recyclers are estimated to be stockpiling 17 million pounds of
CRT glass in California. It's highly likely that the 17 million
figure is artificially low, as a condition of receiving grant
funds from CalRecycle restricts the storage of CRT glass to no
more than one year, so those who are stockpiling CRT glass past
one year are likely underreporting how much is being stored.
One remedy to the problem is to identify, or clarify safe and
viable end uses for CRTs. Aside from televisions, products that
CRTs could be recycled into and used as feedstock for include
those listed in the bill. The current regulatory structure does
not permit CRT glass to be recycled into the uses listed in the
bill.
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DTSC regulations: DTSC regulates the management of waste CRTs
if they contain lead and/or barium, which would cause the CRTs
to be hazardous waste. DTSC's waste regulations required that
CRT glass be sent only to a CRT glass manufacturer or a primary
or secondary lead smelter for recycling, which limited the
potential for CRT recycling.
To encourage proper management of CRTs and CRT glass and improve
the overall effectiveness of the EWRA, DTSC adopted emergency
regulations in 2012 and re-adopted them in 2014 to expand the
options for the ultimate disposition of CRTs and CRT glass. The
regulations were intended to add new disposition options
including disposal and other types of recycling (other than CRT
glass manufacturing and lead smelting) and attempt to identify
and allow new/viable recycling options. According to the
author, this regulatory scheme has proven difficult for
recyclers to implement, and hasn't created sufficient viable
pathways for this material.
End uses for exempted CRT glass: This bill specifies eight end
uses for which CRT glass qualified under this bill can be
recycled and used for include:
1) Tiles, including floor or wall tiles;
2) Fiberglass;
3) Radiation shielding glass;
4) Decorative glass;
5) Bricks;
6) Cast concrete;
7) Blasting media;
8) Construction block; and,
9) Any other end uses identified by DTSC, in consultation
with CalRecycle, that pose no risk to the public health and
safety.
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The intent of this section of the bill is to clarify specific
options that CRT glass can be recycled into in California, which
would create a market for CRT glass and prevent further
stockpiling.
Senate amendments: This bill was substantially amended in the
Senate and the Assembly-approved version of this bill was
deleted. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent
with Assembly actions and the provisions of this bill, as
amended in the Senate, have not been heard in an Assembly policy
committee.
Analysis Prepared by:
Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN:
0004946