European Union Ban On Mercury Barometers

The Sheraton Stick Barometer by Comitti of London.

Many people may already know that Comitti is one of a very small number of companies in the UK that manufacture traditional barometers. In fact, you could count these companies on the fingers on one hand. Barometer making has been a significant craft in Britain for nearly 350 years and ties in with that perennial British obsession --- the weather! This in turn has its roots in traditions arising from our status as an island based nation of seafarers. Barometers were first manufactured for maritime use and employed in both land based and sea going contexts, they gave seafarers a huge advantage as a knowledge of likely and impending weather conditions was so vital in the age of sailing ships.

Now after nearly 350 years the survival of the British craft of barometer making is once again facing a serious threat thanks to ongoing EU legislation on the use of mercury in non-medical instrumentation.

Traditional barometers rely on mercury which is used in the measuring tubes for both temperature and atmospheric pressure. The more sophisticated and scientifically orientated barometers may also contain a wet bulb hygrometer for measuring relative humidity; this is another component that makes use of a small amount of mercury. but later aneroid types with a dial dispaly also use small amounts of mercury for the high accuracy thermometer component. The aneroid barometer will be most familiar to the majority of people. We will keep all interested parties informed through our website, this blog and also the Comitti Face Book page.