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Sooner or later your emergency beacon will need to be replaced. Furthermore, as the satellite system stops processing the 121.5/ 243 MHz signals on February 1st 2009, older 121.5/243.0 emergency beacons will need to be disposed of. It is vital that the battery be disconnected from the unit to prevent false alerts.
False emergency beacon alerts can cause expensive disruptions to search and rescue services and could endanger lives as a consequence.
An emergency beacon should never be disposed of as domestic household waste. It could end up being activated or cause adverse effects on the environment. In many cases, the improper disposal of emergency beacons has led to false alerts in land fills, garbage cans and in people's homes. The Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC), which receives the distress signals, will react to this as an emergency. The battery in an emergency beacon can also contain traces of hazardous materials and should be handled with care. Emergency beacons need to be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of according to the requirements in each community.
For questions on how to dispose of an emergency beacon, contact the manufacturer or take it to an electronics recycling centre in your community.
After safely disposing of an emergency beacon, it is crucial that the Canadian Beacon Registry be updated to reflect the fact that the emergency beacon has been decommissioned. Remember, updating information in the Canadian Beacon Registry is the responsibility of the emergency beacon owner - not the manufacturer.
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