WHO Wants Measuring Devices to Be Mercury-Free By 2020

The World Health Organization and Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of 473 entities in 50 countries, are calling for a global phase-out of mercury-containing fever thermometers and blood pressure cuffs by the end of this decade. The initiative — Mercury-Free Healthcare by 2020 — was launched Oct. 1 at the signing of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. It aims to end all manufacture, import and export of mercury-containing measuring devices and to replace them with accurate, affordable and safer nonmercury alternatives.
International Medical Device Regulatory Monitor