NIH's laboratory mercury reduction campaign and its potential applications in health initiatives to reduce public exposure

In the mid-1990s the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began a voluntary initiative to eliminate the use of mercury in medical applications in its research hospital, the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center. The intentions of the initiative were to prevent potential human exposures and spills, reduce facility decontamination costs and contribute to state, regional and national pollution prevention goals for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals. In 2001 the initiative was expanded into a more organized, agency-wide campaign covering the approximately 5,000 laboratories and other non-clinical areas on all NIH installations in the U.S. The campaign used a Mad Hatter theme in publicity materials to stimulate employee interest, improve awareness of mercury hazards and encourage participation in campaign activities. An unexpected outcome was the high level of public interest in the campaign and the extensive use of its website, brochures and other Mad Hatter themed materials by other government agencies, schools, and thousands of individuals. In 2002 the campaign was cited by the Governor of Maryland as setting a high standard for environmental outreach and education. This evolution of an institutional, laboratory-focused chemical health and safety initiative into a program with broad public health impact is probably unprecedented. Outreach methods used by the campaign have potential applications in national and international public health efforts which are urgently needed to reduce morbidity associated with human exposure to mercury resulting from both spills and dietary intake.