PuebloCAREs

The Pueblo Mercury and Education Reduction Project

The Pueblo Mercury Education and Reduction Project fosters youth leadership for low-income students from local middle and high schools, Upward Bound STEM students and youth environmental club members.  Volunteer students learn about elemental mercury, bioaccumulation of mercury, light bulb efficiency, scientific measurements of mercury in the environment, exposure and neurological health risks for children and pregnant women. Students help to give informational presentations on mercury at school and public community meetings throughout the Pueblo area. 

The Pueblo Mercury Education and Reduction project offers FREE exchange of old mercury containing thermostats and thermometers for new digital thermometers and programmable mercury-free thermostats to Pueblo County residents, small businesses, landlords and non-profit organizations.  

Evaluation and measuring of the effect of the project is obtained through written feedback sheets which are given to participants at presentations and exchange program. This data will provide documentation about the extent of outreach and numbers of people educated on the subject of mercury exposure, on the amount of mercury and accompanying health risk reduction in Pueblo homes and numbers who took concrete action to reduce mercury exposure in their own households. 

Education provides lifetime understanding of mercury hazards and teaches people how to avoid human exposure for themselves and their families, inform others, and provide for sustained ability to avoid mercury hazards in the future.