II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4934 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 

conduct a study on mercury vapor released from synthetic flooring made 

using phenylmercuric acetate, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 1, 2020 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a study on mercury vapor released from synthetic flooring made using phenylmercuric 

acetate, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury Vapor Study 

5 Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) PMA flooring, a type of rubberized poly2 urethane flooring, was widely installed in schools, 

3 hospitals, retirement homes, community centers, and 

4 other public spaces starting in the 1960s; 

5 (2) PMA flooring may release mercury vapor 

6 into the air as the flooring deteriorates; 

7 (3) mercury is a persistent bioaccumulative 

8 neurotoxin with great potential for harm, particu9 larly for children and other vulnerable populations; 

10 (4) there have been no studies examining the 

11 effects on children and other vulnerable populations 

12 from mercury vapor emitted from PMA flooring; 

13 (5) several States have issued guidance on max14 imum acceptable levels of mercury vapor from PMA 

15 flooring, but the guidance levels vary from State to 

16 State and there is currently no national standard; 

17 (6) school districts and other public spaces 

18 across the United States are unaware of the risk of 

19 mercury vapor exposure from PMA flooring; and 

20 (7) as of November 2020, it is not known— 

21 (A) how many schools and public spaces 

22 have PMA flooring installed; 

23 (B) which schools and public spaces may 

24 have PMA flooring installed; and 


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1 (C) whether PMA flooring is still being in2 stalled in school districts and public spaces 

3 across the United States. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ8 mental Protection Agency. 

9 (2) PMA FLOORING.—The term ‘‘PMA floor10 ing’’ means synthetic flooring made using 

11 phenylmercuric acetate as a catalyst. 

12 SEC. 4. STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF MERCURY VAPOR 

13 FROM PMA FLOORING ON HUMAN HEALTH. 

14 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator, in consultation with 

15 the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and 

16 Disease Registry, the Consumer Product Safety Commis17 sion, and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 

18 shall conduct a study— 

19 (1) on the potential exposure to mercury vapor 

20 from PMA flooring, including by collecting existing 

21 data and obtaining new data on mercury vapor con22 centrations in facilities with PMA flooring; 

23 (2) on the prevalence of PMA flooring in 

24 schools; and 


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1 (3) to establish appropriate industrial hygiene 

2 monitoring steps to prevent or interdict mercury 

3 vapor exposure. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

6 to Congress and make publicly available on the website 

7 of the Environmental Protection Agency a report that in8 cludes— 

9 (1) a description of the results of the study con10 ducted under subsection (a); 

11 (2) a calculation of the minimal risk level for 

12 exposure to mercury vapor from PMA flooring; 

13 (3) a registry of schools with PMA flooring; 

14 (4) guidance on best practices to properly ad15 dress and mitigate the risk of mercury vapor expo16 sure from PMA flooring; 

17 (5) a plan to communicate the potential haz18 ards of PMA flooring to school districts and the gen19 eral public; and 

20 (6) a recommendation as to whether to ban, 

21 phase out, or otherwise restrict the future installa22 tion of PMA flooring. 

Æ 


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