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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4528

Entitled the ‘‘Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management

Act’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 26, 1994

Mr. RICHARDSON (for himself, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. FROST, Mr.

UPTON, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. WASHINGTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery

Management Act’’.

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-Containing

5 and Rechargeable Battery Management Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) On the basis of available scientific and med9 ical evidence, exposure to toxic metals including mer-
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1 cury, cadmium and lead, is of concern to human

2 health and the environment.

3 (2) The presence of toxic metals in certain used

4 batteries is of concern, in light of the substantial

5 quantity of used batteries discarded annually in the

6 solid waste stream, and the potential environmental

7 and health consequences associated with land dis8 posal, composting or incineration.

9 (3) It is in the public interest to reduce the

10 quantity of toxic metals entering solid waste land11 fills, incinerators and composting facilities by phas12 ing-out the use of mercury in batteries and by pro13 viding for the efficient and cost effective collection

14 and recycling or proper disposal of used nickel cad15 mium, small sealed lead-acid regulated batteries and

16 any other regulated battery, and to educate the pub17 lic concerning the collection, recycling and proper

18 disposal of such batteries.

19 (4) Uniform national labeling requirements for

20 regulated batteries, rechargeable consumer products

21 and product packaging will significantly benefit pro22 grams for regulated battery collection and recycling

23 or proper disposal, and thus will benefit human

24 health and the environment.
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1 (5) It is in the public interest to encourage re2 cycling by persons who participate in collection, stor3 age, transportation, and recycling of used nickel-cad4 mium, small sealed lead-acid or any other regulated

5 batteries, and such batteries used in consumer prod6 ucts.

7 (6) It is in the public interest and will create

8 economic efficiencies to allow persons who partici9 pate in projects or programs to collect and properly

10 manage used batteries or battery-powered products

11 to enter into agreements with other participating

12 persons to include the costs of operating such pro13 grams in the price of such batteries and battery

14 powered products.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 For the purposes of this Act:

17 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad18 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

19 (2) The term ‘‘battery pack’’ means any com20 bination of rechargeable batteries containing one or

21 more regulated batteries that commonly has wire

22 leads, terminals and dielectric housing.

23 (3) The term ‘‘easily removable’’ means the bat24 tery or battery pack is either detachable or remov25 able from a consumer product by a consumer with
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1 the use of common household tools at the end of the

2 life of the product.

3 (4) The term ‘‘rechargeable battery’’ means any

4 type of enclosed device or sealed container consisting

5 of one or more voltaic or galvanic cells, electrically

6 connected to produce electric energy, that is de7 signed to be recharged for repeated uses. Such term

8 shall not include—

9 (A) any lead-acid battery used to start an

10 internal combustion engine or as the principal

11 electrical power source for vehicles, including

12 but not limited to automobiles, trucks, con13 struction equipment, motorcycles, garden trac14 tors, golfcarts, wheelchairs and boats;

15 (B) any lead-acid battery used for load lev16 eling or for storage of electricity generated by

17 alternative energy sources, such as (but not lim18 ited to) solar cells or wind driven generators;

19 (C) any battery used as a backup power

20 source for memory or program instruction stor21 age, timekeeping, or any similar purpose that

22 requires uninterrupted electrical power in order

23 to function if the primary energy supply fails or

24 fluctuates momentarily; and

25 (D) rechargeable alkaline batteries.
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1 (5) The term ‘‘rechargeable consumer product’’

2 means any product that when sold at retail includes

3 a regulated battery as a primary energy supply, and

4 that is primarily intended for personal or household

5 use. Such term shall not include any product that

6 only uses a battery solely as a backup power source

7 for memory or program instruction storage, time8 keeping, or any similar purpose that requires unin9 terrupted electrical power in order to function if the

10 primary energy supply fails or fluctuates momentar11 ily.

12 (6) The term ‘‘regulated battery’’ means any

13 rechargeable battery that contains a cadmium or a

14 lead electrode or any combination thereof, and such

15 other electrode chemistries as determined by the Ad16 ministrator pursuant to Section 103(e).

17 (7) The term ‘‘remanufactured product’’ means

18 a rechargeable consumer product that has been al19 tered by the replacement of parts, repackaged, or re20 paired after initial sale by the original manufacturer.

21 (8) The term ‘‘mercuric-oxide battery’’ means a

22 battery that uses a mercuric-oxide electrode.

23 (9) The term ‘‘button cell’’ means any button24 shaped or coin shaped battery.
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1 SEC. 4. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.

2 The Administrator shall, in consultation with rep3 resentatives of rechargeable battery manufacturers, re4 chargeable consumer product manufacturers and retailers,

5 establish a program to provide information to the public

6 concerning the proper handling and disposal of used regu7 lated batteries and rechargeable consumer products with

8 nonremovable batteries.

9 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

10 For the purposes of this Act:

11 (1) Whenever on the basis of any information

12 the Administrator determines that any person has

13 violated or is in violation of any requirement of this

14 Act, the Administrator may issue an order assessing

15 a civil penalty for any past or current violation, re16 quiring compliance immediately or within a reason17 able specified time period, or both, or the Adminis18 trator may commence a civil action in the United

19 States district court in the district in which the vio20 lation occurred for appropriate relief, including a

21 temporary or permanent injunction.

22 (2) Any order issued pursuant to this sub23 section shall state with reasonable specificity the na24 ture of the violation. Any penalty assessed in the

25 order shall not exceed $10,000 for each such viola26 tion. In assessing such a penalty, the Administrator
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1 shall take into account the seriousness of the viola2 tion and any good faith efforts to comply with appli3 cable requirements.

4 (3) Any order issued under this section shall

5 become final unless, no later than thirty days after

6 the order is served, the person or persons named

7 therein request a public hearing. Upon such request

8 the Administrator shall promptly conduct a public

9 hearing. In connection with any proceeding under

10 this section the Administrator may issue subpoenas

11 for the attendance and testimony of witnesses and

12 the production of relevant papers, books and docu13 ments.

14 (4) If a violator fails to take corrective action

15 within the time specified in a compliance order, the

16 Administrator may assess a civil penalty of not more

17 that $10,000 for the continued noncompliance with

18 the order.

19 SEC. 6. INFORMATION GATHERING AND ACCESS.

20 For the purposes of this Act:

21 (1) Any person who is required to carry out the

22 objectives of this Act, including but not limited to

23 (1) regulated battery manufacturers, (2) recharge24 able consumer product manufacturers, (3) mercury

25 containing battery manufacturers, or (4) their au-
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1 thorized agents shall establish and maintain such

2 records and report such information as the Adminis3 trator may by rulemaking reasonably require to

4 carry out the objectives of this Act.

5 (2) The Administrator or his authorized rep6 resentative upon presentation of his credentials may

7 at reasonable times have access to and copy any

8 such records required to be maintained under para9 graph (1) of this section.

10 (3) The Administrator shall maintain the con11 fidentiality of such documents and records that con12 tain proprietary information.

13 SEC. 7. STATE AUTHORITY.

14 Except as provided in sections 103(f) and 104, relat15 ing to requirements and the labeling of rechargeable bat16 teries, battery packs, or rechargeable consumer products

17 or packages containing such products, nothing in this Act

18 shall be construed so as to prohibit a State from enacting

19 and enforcing a standard or requirement that is more

20 stringent than a standard or requirement established or

21 promulgated under this Act.

22 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION.

23 Funds necessary to implement the requirements of

24 this Act are hereby authorized to be appropriated.
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1 TITLE I—RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

2 RECYCLING ACT

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Title may be cited as the ‘‘Rechargeable Battery

5 Recycling Act’’.

6 SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this title is to:

8 (1) Reduce the quantity of cadmium and lead

9 entering solid waste landfills, incinerators and

10 composting facilities by promoting the efficient recy11 cling of used nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries,

12 used small sealed lead-acid rechargeable batteries or

13 any other regulated battery, and such rechargeable

14 batteries in used consumer products, through uni15 form labeling requirements, streamlined regulatory

16 requirements for regulated battery collection pro17 grams, and by encouraging voluntary industry pro18 grams by eliminating barriers to funding the collec19 tion and recycling or proper disposal of used re20 chargeable batteries.

21 SEC. 103. RECHARGEABLE CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND LA22 BELING.

23 (a) PROHIBITION.—No person shall sell to the end

24 user for use in the United States a regulated battery or

25 rechargeable consumer product manufactured on or after
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1 the date that is 12 months after the date of enactment

2 of this Act, unless—

3 (1) the regulated battery—

4 (A) is easily removable from the recharge5 able consumer product;

6 (B) is contained in a battery pack that is

7 easily removable from the product; or

8 (C) is sold separately; and

9 (2) the rechargeable consumer product and the

10 regulated battery are labeled in accordance with sub11 section (b).

12 (3) The requirements of subsection (a) do not

13 apply to the following:

14 (A) The sale of remanufactured product

15 units unless subsection (a) applied to the sale

16 of the unit when originally manufactured.

17 (B) Product units intended for export pur18 poses only.

19 (b) LABELING.—Each of the following items manu20 factured on or after the date that is 12 months after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, whether produced domesti22 cally or imported, shall be labeled with the three chasing

23 arrows or a comparable recycling symbol, and, on nickel24 cadmium batteries or battery packs, the chemical name

25 or the abbreviation ‘‘Ni-Cd’’, or, on lead-acid batteries and
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1 battery packs, either ‘‘Pb’’ or the words ‘‘LEAD’’ ‘‘RE2 TURN’’ ‘‘RECYCLE’’, and all applicable statements list3 ed below:

4 (1) On each regulated battery or battery pack:

5 ‘‘NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERY. MUST BE RE6 CYCLED OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or

7 ‘‘SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BATTERY MUST

8 BE RECYCLED.’’.

9 (2) On each rechargeable consumer product

10 without an easily removable battery or battery pack:

11 ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERY.

12 BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED OR DIS13 POSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or ‘‘CONTAINS

14 SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BATTERY MUST

15 BE RECYCLED.’’.

16 (3) On the packaging of each rechargeable

17 consumer product, and the packaging of each regu18 lated battery or battery pack sold separately, unless

19 the relevant label is clearly visible through the pack20 aging: ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL-CADMIUM BAT21 TERY. BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED OR

22 DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or ‘‘CONTAINS

23 SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BATTERY MUST

24 BE RECYCLED.’’.

25 (c) EXISTING LABELING.—
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1 (1) For a period of twenty-four (24) months

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, regulated

3 batteries and battery packs, rechargeable consumer

4 products containing regulated batteries, and re5 chargeable consumer product packages that are la6 beled in substantial compliance with subsection (b)

7 shall be deemed to comply with the labeling require8 ments of subsection (b).

9 (2) Upon application by persons subject to the

10 labeling requirements of subsection 103(b) of the la11 beling requirements promulgated by the Adminis12 trator under subsection 103(e), the Administrator

13 may approve and certify that a different label meets

14 the requirements of subsections 103 (b) and (e), if

15 the different label is substantially similar to the label

16 required under subsections 103 (b) or (e) or con17 forms with a recognized international standard and

18 is consistent with the overall purposes of this Title.

19 (d) POINT OF SALE INFORMATION.—Any retail es20 tablishment that offers for sale any battery or product

21 subject to the requirements of subsection (b) or regula22 tions promulgated by the Administrator under subsection

23 (e), shall display in a manner visible to the consumer, a

24 written notice that informs the consumer that regulated
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1 batteries, whether sold separately or in rechargeable prod2 ucts, must be recycled or disposed of properly.

3 (e) ADMINISTRATOR’S RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—If

4 the Administrator determines that other rechargeable bat5 teries having electrode chemistries different from regu6 lated batteries are toxic and may cause substantial harm

7 to human health and the environment if discarded into

8 the solid waste stream for land disposal or incineration,

9 the Administrator may, with the advice and counsel of

10 state regulatory authorities and manufacturers of re11 chargeable batteries and products, and after public com12 ment, (1) promulgate labeling requirements for such bat13 teries, battery backs, products without easily removable

14 batteries and their packaging, and (2) promulgate easily15 removable design requirements for rechargeable consumer

16 products designed to contain such batteries or battery

17 packs. The regulations promulgated pursuant to this sub18 section shall be substantially similar to the requirements

19 contained in subsections (a) and (b).

20 (f) UNIFORMITY.—After the effective dates of the re21 quirements set forth in Section 103, no federal agency,

22 State, or political subdivision may enforce any easy remov23 ability or environmental labeling requirement for a re24 chargeable battery or product that includes a rechargeable

25 battery that is not identical to the requirements contained
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1 in subsections (a), (b) and (c) or the regulations promul2 gated by the Administrator under subsection (e).

3 (g) EXEMPTIONS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any re5 chargeable consumer product, any person may sub6 mit an application to the Administrator for an ex7 emption from the requirements of subsection (a) in

8 accordance with the procedures under paragraph

9 (2). The application shall include the following infor10 mation:

11 (A) A statement of the specific basis for

12 the request for the exemption.

13 (B) The name, business address, and tele14 phone number of the applicant.

15 (2) GRANTING OF EXEMPTION.—Within 60

16 days of receipt of an application under paragraph

17 (1), the Administrator shall approve or deny the ap18 plication. Upon approval of the application the Ad19 ministrator shall grant an exemption to the appli20 cant. The exemption shall be issued for a period of

21 time that the Administrator determines to be appro22 priate, except that such period shall not exceed 2

23 years. The Administrator shall grant an exemption

24 on the basis of evidence supplied to the Adminis25 trator that the manufacturer has been unable to
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1 commence manufacturing the rechargeable consumer

2 product in compliance with the requirements of this

3 section and with an equivalent level of product per4 formance without the product—

5 (A) resulting in danger to human health,

6 safety, or the environment; or

7 (B) violating requirements for approvals

8 from governmental agencies or widely recog9 nized private standard-setting organizations (in10 cluding but not limited to Underwriters Labora11 tories).

12 (3) RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION.—A person

13 granted an exemption may apply for a renewal of

14 the exemption in accordance with the requirements

15 and procedures described in paragraph (2). The Ad16 ministrator may grant renewals of an exemption for

17 periods of not more than 2 years after the date of

18 granting of the renewal.

19 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS.

20 For the purposes of carrying out the collection, stor21 age, transportation and recycling or proper disposal of

22 used rechargeable batteries and products without easily

23 removable rechargeable batteries, persons involved in col24 lecting, storing, or transporting used rechargeable bat25 teries or products containing used rechargeable batteries
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1 to a facility for recycling or proper disposal shall be regu2 lated in the same manner and with the same limitations

3 as if such persons were collecting, storing or transporting

4 batteries subject to 40 CFR part 266 subpart G on Janu5 ary 1, 1993, notwithstanding any regulations adopted pur6 suant to a grant of authority to a State under Section

7 3006 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6926).

8 SEC. 105. COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.

9 If two or more persons who participate in projects

10 or programs to collect and properly manage used recharge11 able batteries or products powered by rechargeable bat12 teries advise the Administrator of their intent, they may

13 agree to develop jointly, or to share in the costs of partici14 pating in, such a program and to examine and rely upon

15 such cost information as is collected during the project

16 or program, notwithstanding any other provision of law.

17 SEC. 106. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

18 (a) REPORT DEADLINES IN GENERAL.—Not later

19 than 36 months after the date of enactment of this Act,

20 the Administrator, after consultation with and obtaining

21 relevant industrywide data from the States, environmental

22 and consumer groups, and organizations representing re23 chargeable battery manufacturers, rechargeable consumer

24 product manufacturers and retailers, and after public

25 hearing and comment, shall submit to Congress a report
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1 that provides the information specified in Subsection (b).

2 In collecting information for said report, the Adminis3 trator shall coordinate with the aforementioned States, en4 vironmental and consumer groups, and organizations to

5 minimize the frequency and scope of any reporting re6 quirements associated with the manufacture, sale, or col7 lection of regulated batteries.

8 (b) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report described in

9 Subsection (a) shall consider and discuss each of the fol10 lowing:

11 (1) A review of the activities carried out by the

12 entities listed in subsection (a) with respect to the

13 labeling and collection, transportation, and recycling

14 or disposal of regulated batteries.

15 (2) An estimate, for the period beginning on the

16 date of enactment of this section and ending on the

17 date of preparation of the report, of the number of

18 regulated batteries entering the solid waste stream

19 for disposal in incinerators, landfills and municipal

20 solid waste facilities.

21 (3) A review of the recycling and reclamation

22 rates for regulated batteries.

23 (4) A review of the availability of permitted fa24 cilities sufficient to handle the current and projected

25 volume of used regulated batteries, along with a
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1 complete evaluation of potential regulatory impedi2 ments to management options.

3 (5) A list of entities involved in the production

4 and distribution of regulated batteries or recharge5 able consumer products participating in programs

6 for the collection of regulated batteries.

7 (6) A list of entities involved in the production

8 and distribution of regulated batteries or recharge9 able consumer products, excluding retailers, that are

10 not participating in regulated battery collection pro11 grams. In formulating such list, the Administrator

12 shall not require any participant to report the name

13 of any non-participant. Prior to listing any entity as

14 a nonparticipant, the Administrator must determine

15 that the entity should be a participant, and inde16 pendently verify with the entity that it is not a par17 ticipant.

18 (c) FREQUENCY OF REPORT.—24 months after publi19 cation of the report required in subsection (a), and bienni20 ally thereafter, the Administrator shall issue a report that

21 provides an update of the information specified in sub22 section (b).
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1 TITLE II—MERCURY CONTAINING BATTERY

2 MANAGEMENT ACT

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury-Containing

5 Battery Management Act’’.

6 SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Title is to eliminate the quantity

8 of mercury entering solid waste landfills, incinerators and

9 composting facilities by phasing out the use of mercury

10 in batteries containing mercury.

11 SEC. 203. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ALKALINE-MAN12 GANESE BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

13 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro14 motional purposes any alkaline-manganese battery manu15 factured on or after January 1, 1996, with a mercury con16 tent that was intentionally introduced (as distinguished

17 from mercury which may be incidentally present in other

18 materials), except that the limitation on mercury content

19 in alkaline-manganese button cells shall be 25 milligrams

20 of mercury per button cell.

21 SEC. 204. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ZINC CARBON

22 BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

23 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro24 motional purposes any zinc carbon battery manufactured
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1 on or after January 1, 1995, that contains any mercury

2 that was intentionally introduced.

3 SEC. 205. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF BUTTON CELL

4 MERCURIC-OXIDE BATTERIES.

5 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro6 motional purposes any button cell mercuric-oxide battery

7 on or after January 1, 1995.

8 SEC. 206. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF MERCURIC-OXIDE

9 BATTERIES.

10 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro11 motional purposes, any mercuric-oxide battery on or after

12 January 1, 1997.

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