This chapter shall be known and cited as the “Antifreeze
Safety Ordinance.”
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 1, adopted 10/26/04)
(A) Antifreeze
and engine coolant contain ethylene glycol, an extremely toxic yet
sweet tasting substance that injures many children and kills thousands
of animals every year in the United States.
(B) The
National Safety Council, the American Medical Association, and the
American Association of Poison Control Centers have noted that the
addition of nontoxic bittering agents to toxic household products
can make such products so unpalatable that many children reject the
projects upon, or shortly after, tasting them.
(C) Organizations
that support the health and safety of animals favor the passage of
legislation that requires a bittering agent to be added to antifreeze
and engine coolant.
(D) When
added in sufficient quantities, the nontoxic bittering agent denatonium
benzoate has been shown to effectively render antifreeze and engine
coolant unpalatable.
(E) The
cost of adding denatonium benzoate to antifreeze and engine coolant
is approximately 2 cents per gallon. By law, antifreeze manufacturers
are already required to add this bittering agent to antifreeze and
engine coolants sold in Oregon and California.
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 2, adopted 10/26/04)
(A) Beginning
January 1, 2005, it shall be unlawful for any retail merchant, including
automotive repair and similar businesses, to sell, offer for sale,
or use in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance any engine
coolant or antifreeze that contains more than 10 percent ethylene
glycol, unless such engine coolant or antifreeze also contains:
(1) A
minimum of 30 parts per million of denatonium benzoate; or
(2) Another
nontoxic bittering agent in amounts that have been scientifically
demonstrated to render engine coolant and antifreeze as unpalatable
as that containing 30 parts per million of denatonium benzoate.
(B) Beginning January 1, 2005, every retail merchant, including automotive repair and similar businesses, that sells, offers for sale, or uses in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance any engine coolant or antifreeze must possess documentation from the product manufacturer or packager that sets forth: (1) the minimum percentage amount of ethylene glycol contained in each container of engine coolant or antifreeze in the retail merchant’s possession; and (2) if a nontoxic bittering agent is required under subsection
(A), the minimum amount and trade or scientific name of the nontoxic bittering agent each container of the product contains. This documentation shall be furnished to any person authorized to enforce this chapter or other member of the public upon request. If the retail merchant, manufacturer, or packager places the information required by this subsection on the product container or label, however, the retail merchant need not possess any further documentation that also contains the required information for such labeled product.
(C) Manufacturers and packagers of engine coolant and antifreeze that must contain a nontoxic bittering agent pursuant to subsection
(A) shall maintain records of their compliance with that subsection, including the trade name, scientific name, and ingredients of any bittering agent it has used, which records shall be furnished to any person authorized to enforce this chapter or other member of the public upon request.
(D) The following are exempt from the requirements of subsection
(A) through
(C):
(1) The
sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze.
(2) The
sale, offering for sale, or use in conjunction with automotive repair
or maintenance of antifreeze or engine coolant that was in the possession
of a retail merchant prior to the effective date of this chapter.
The exemption in this subsection shall expire on June 30, 2005; provided,
however, that the county sheriff may, in his discretion, extend this
exemption at the request of a retail merchant who:
(a) Had in its possession one or more wholesale container of 55 gallons
or more of antifreeze or engine coolant prior to the effective date
of the ordinance from which this chapter derives; and
(b) Can demonstrate that allowing the exemption to expire would impose
an unreasonable economic burden.
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 3, adopted 10/26/04)
Each sale, offer for sale, or use in conjunction with automotive repair or maintenance of antifreeze or engine coolant in violation of section
98.03(A) and
(B) shall be a separate offense punishable pursuant to and in accordance with NMSA 1975, section 4-37-3 (1993).
(Ordinance 2004-06, sec. 4, adopted 10/26/04)