(a) Commencing thirty (30) days after the approval or conditional approval of a mercury minimization plan pursuant to § 8-9-605, a vehicle recycler that sells, gives, or otherwise conveys ownership of an end-of-life vehicle to a scrap recycling facility for recycling shall remove all mercury switches identified in the approved mercury minimization plan from the end-of-life vehicle prior to delivery to a scrap recycling facility, unless a mercury switch is inaccessible due to significant damage to the vehicle in the area surrounding the location of the mercury switch, in which case the damage shall be noted on the normal business records of the vehicle recycler who delivered the end-of-life vehicle to the scrap recycling facility.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a scrap recycling facility may agree to accept an end-of-life vehicle containing mercury switches that has not been intentionally flattened, crushed, or baled, in which case the scrap recycling facility shall be responsible for removing the mercury switches identified in the mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to § 8-9-605 before the end-of-life vehicle is intentionally flattened, crushed, baled, or shredded.

(c) (1) A vehicle recycler or scrap recycling facility that removes mercury switches pursuant to subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section shall maintain records documenting the number of:

(A) Mercury switches collected;

(B) End-of-life vehicles containing mercury switches;

(C) End-of-life vehicles processed for recycling;

(D) The makes and models of vehicles from which mercury switches were removed; and

(E) Switches collected from each make.

(2) These records shall be made available for review by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality upon the request of the department.

(d) No person shall represent that mercury switches have been removed from an end-of-life vehicle being sold, given, or otherwise conveyed for recycling if that person has not removed the mercury switches or arranged with another person to remove the mercury switches.

(e) Upon removal, mercury switches shall be collected, stored, transported, and otherwise handled in accordance with the:

(1) Mercury minimization plan approved pursuant to § 8-9-605; and

(2) Provisions of the rules and regulations concerning universal waste adopted by the department pursuant to the Arkansas Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1979, § 8-7-201 et seq.

(f) No scrap recycling facility or other person that receives an intentionally flattened, crushed, or baled end-of-life vehicle shall be in violation of this subchapter if a mercury switch is found in the vehicle after its acquisition.