II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 619

To phase out the use of mercury in batteries and provide for the efficient

and cost-effective collection and recycling or proper disposal of used

nickel cadmium batteries, small sealed lead-acid batteries, and certain

other batteries, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 24 (legislative day, MARCH 23), 1995

Mr. SMITH (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. SIMON, Mr. MACK, Mr. BOND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. LIEBERMAN,

Mr. WARNER, and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public

Works

A BILL

To phase out the use of mercury in batteries and provide

for the efficient and cost-effective collection and recycling

or proper disposal of used nickel cadmium batteries,

small sealed lead-acid batteries, and certain other batteries, 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-Containing

5 and Rechargeable Battery Management Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) it is in the public interest to—

4 (A) phase out the use of mercury in bat5 teries and provide for the efficient and cost-ef6 fective collection and recycling or proper dis7 posal of used nickel cadmium batteries, small

8 sealed lead-acid batteries, and other regulated

9 batteries; and

10 (B) educate the public concerning the col11 lection, recycling, and proper disposal of such

12 batteries;

13 (2) uniform national labeling requirements for

14 regulated batteries, rechargeable consumer products,

15 and product packaging will significantly benefit pro16 grams for regulated battery collection and recycling

17 or proper disposal; and

18 (3) it is in the public interest to encourage per19 sons who use rechargeable batteries to participate in

20 collection for recycling of used nickel-cadmium,

21 small sealed lead-acid, and other regulated batteries.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act:

24 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis25 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ26 mental Protection Agency.
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1 (2) BUTTON CELL.—The term ‘‘button cell’’

2 means a button- or coin-shaped battery.

3 (3) EASILY REMOVABLE.—The term ‘‘easily re4 movable’’, with respect to a battery, means detach5 able or removable at the end of the life of the bat6 tery—

7 (A) from a consumer product by a

8 consumer with the use of common household

9 tools; or

10 (B) by a retailer of replacements for a bat11 tery used as the principal electrical power

12 source for a vehicle.

13 (4) MERCURIC-OXIDE BATTERY.—The term

14 ‘‘mercuric-oxide battery’’ means a battery that uses

15 a mercuric-oxide electrode.

16 (5) RECHARGEABLE BATTERY.—The term ‘‘re17 chargeable battery’’—

18 (A) means 1 or more voltaic or galvanic

19 cells, electrically connected to produce electric

20 energy, that is designed to be recharged for re21 peated uses; and

22 (B) includes any type of enclosed device or

23 sealed container consisting of 1 or more such

24 cells, including what is commonly called a bat25 tery pack (and in the case of a battery pack, for
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1 the purposes of the requirements of easy remov2 ability and labeling under section 103, means

3 the battery pack as a whole rather than each

4 component individually); but

5 (C) does not include—

6 (i) a lead-acid battery used to start an

7 internal combustion engine or as the prin8 cipal electrical power source for a vehicle,

9 such as an automobile, a truck, construc10 tion equipment, a motorcycle, a garden

11 tractor, a golf cart, a wheelchair, or a boat;

12 (ii) a lead-acid battery used for load

13 leveling or for storage of electricity gen14 erated by an alternative energy source,

15 such as a solar cell or wind-driven genera16 tor;

17 (iii) a battery used as a backup power

18 source for memory or program instruction

19 storage, timekeeping, or any similar pur20 pose that requires uninterrupted electrical

21 power in order to function if the primary

22 energy supply fails or fluctuates momen23 tarily; or

24 (iv) a rechargeable alkaline battery.
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1 (6) RECHARGEABLE CONSUMER PRODUCT.—

2 The term ‘‘rechargeable consumer product’’—

3 (A) means a product that, when sold at re4 tail, includes a regulated battery as a primary

5 energy supply, and that is primarily intended

6 for personal or household use; but

7 (B) does not include a product that only

8 uses a battery solely as a source of backup

9 power for memory or program instruction stor10 age, timekeeping, or any similar purpose that

11 requires uninterrupted electrical power in order

12 to function if the primary energy supply fails or

13 fluctuates momentarily.

14 (7) REGULATED BATTERY.—The term ‘‘regu15 lated battery’’ means a rechargeable battery that—

16 (A) contains a cadmium or a lead electrode

17 or any combination of cadmium and lead elec18 trodes; or

19 (B) contains other electrode chemistries

20 and is the subject of a determination by the Ad21 ministrator under section 103(d).

22 (8) REMANUFACTURED PRODUCT.—The term

23 ‘‘remanufactured product’’ means a rechargeable

24 consumer product that has been altered by the re-
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1 placement of parts, repackaged, or repaired after

2 initial sale by the original manufacturer.

3 SEC. 4. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION.

4 The Administrator shall, in consultation with rep5 resentatives of rechargeable battery manufacturers, re6 chargeable consumer product manufacturers, and retail7 ers, establish a program to provide information to the pub8 lic concerning the proper handling and disposal of used

9 regulated batteries and rechargeable consumer products

10 with nonremovable batteries.

11 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

12 (a) CIVIL PENALTY.—When on the basis of any infor13 mation the Administrator determines that a person has

14 violated or is in violation of any requirement of this Act,

15 the Administrator—

16 (1) in the case of a willful violation, may issue

17 an order assessing a civil penalty of not more than

18 $10,000 for each violation and requiring compliance

19 immediately or within a reasonable specified time pe20 riod, or both; or

21 (2) in the case of any violation, may commence

22 a civil action in the United States district court in

23 the district in which the violation occurred for ap24 propriate relief, including a temporary or permanent

25 injunction.
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1 (b) CONTENTS OF ORDER.—An order under sub2 section (a)(1) shall state with reasonable specificity the

3 nature of the violation.

4 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In assessing a civil penalty

5 under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator shall take into

6 account the seriousness of the violation and any good faith

7 efforts to comply with applicable requirements.

8 (d) FINALITY OF ORDER; REQUEST FOR HEARING.—

9 An order under subsection (a)(1) shall become final un10 less, not later than 30 days after the order is served, a

11 person named in the order requests a hearing on the

12 record.

13 (e) HEARING.—On receiving a request under sub14 section (d), the Administrator shall promptly conduct a

15 hearing on the record.

16 (f) SUBPOENA POWER.—In connection with any

17 hearing on the record under this section, the Adminis18 trator may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testi19 mony of witnesses and for the production of relevant pa20 pers, books, and documents.

21 (g) CONTINUED VIOLATION AFTER EXPIRATION OF

22 PERIOD FOR COMPLIANCE.—If a violator fails to take cor23 rective action within the time specified in an order under

24 subsection (a)(1), the Administrator may assess a civil
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1 penalty of not more than $10,000 for the continued non2 compliance with the order.

3 SEC. 6. INFORMATION GATHERING AND ACCESS.

4 (a) RECORDS AND REPORTS.—A person who is re5 quired to carry out the objectives of this Act, including—

6 (1) a regulated battery manufacturer;

7 (2) a rechargeable consumer product manufac8 turer;

9 (3) a mercury-containing battery manufacturer;

10 and

11 (4) an authorized agent of a person described

12 in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C),

13 shall establish and maintain such records and report such

14 information as the Administrator may by regulation rea15 sonably require to carry out the objectives of this Act.

16 (b) ACCESS AND COPYING.—The Administrator or

17 the Administrator’s authorized representative, on presen18 tation of credentials of the Administrator, may at reason19 able times have access to and copy any records required

20 to be maintained under subsection (a).

21 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Administrator shall

22 maintain the confidentiality of documents and records that

23 contain proprietary information.
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1 SEC. 7. STATE AUTHORITY.

2 Except as provided in sections 103(e) and 104, noth3 ing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a State from

4 enacting and enforcing a standard or requirement that is

5 more stringent than a standard or requirement established

6 or promulgated under this Act.

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

9 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

10 TITLE I—RECHARGEABLE

11 BATTERY RECYCLING ACT

12 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

13 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Rechargeable Battery

14 Recycling Act’’.

15 SEC. 102. PURPOSE.

16 The purpose of this title is to facilitate the efficient

17 recycling or proper disposal of used nickel-cadmium re18 chargeable batteries, used small sealed lead-acid recharge19 able batteries, other regulated batteries, and such re20 chargeable batteries in used consumer products, by—

21 (1) providing for uniform labeling requirements

22 and streamlined regulatory requirements for regu23 lated battery collection programs; and

24 (2) encouraging voluntary industry programs by

25 eliminating barriers to funding the collection and re-
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1 cycling or proper disposal of used rechargeable bat2 teries.

3 SEC. 103. RECHARGEABLE CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND LA4 BELING.

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall sell for use

7 in the United States a regulated battery that is

8 ready for retail sale or a rechargeable consumer

9 product that is ready for retail sale, which was man10 ufactured on or after the date that is 12 months

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, unless—

12 (A) in the case of a regulated battery, the

13 regulated battery—

14 (i) is easily removable from the re15 chargeable consumer product; or

16 (ii) is sold separately; and

17 (B) in the case of a regulated battery or

18 rechargeable consumer product, the labeling re19 quirements of subsection (b) are met.

20 (2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does not

21 apply to a sale of—

22 (A) a remanufactured product unit unless

23 paragraph (1) applied to the sale of the unit

24 when originally manufactured; or
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1 (B) a product unit intended for export pur2 poses only.

3 (b) LABELING.—Each regulated battery or recharge4 able consumer product without an easily removable battery

5 manufactured on or after the date that is 1 year after

6 the date of enactment of this Act, whether produced do7 mestically or imported, shall be labeled with—

8 (1)(A) 3 chasing arrows or a comparable recy9 cling symbol;

10 (B)(i) on each nickel-cadmium battery, the

11 chemical name or the abbreviation ‘‘Ni-Cd’’; and

12 (ii) on each lead-acid battery, ‘‘Pb’’ or the

13 words ‘‘LEAD’’, ‘‘RETURN’’, and ‘‘RECYCLE’’;

14 (C) on each nickel-cadmium regulated battery,

15 the phrase ‘‘BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED

16 OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’; and

17 (D) on each sealed lead acid regulated battery,

18 the phrase ‘‘BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED.’’;

19 (2) on each rechargeable consumer product con20 taining a regulated battery that is not easily remov21 able, the phrase ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL-CADMIUM

22 BATTERY. BATTERY MUST BE RECYCLED

23 OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or ‘‘CON24 TAINS SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BATTERY

25 MUST BE RECYCLED.’’, as applicable; and
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1 (3) on the packaging of each rechargeable

2 consumer product, and the packaging of each regu3 lated battery sold separately from such a product,

4 unless the required label is clearly visible through

5 the packaging, the phrase ‘‘CONTAINS NICKEL6 CADMIUM BATTERY. BATTERY MUST BE

7 RECYCLED OR DISPOSED OF PROPERLY.’’ or

8 ‘‘CONTAINS SEALED LEAD BATTERY. BAT9 TERY MUST BE RECYCLED.’’, as applicable.

10 (c) EXISTING OR ALTERNATIVE LABELING.—

11 (1) INITIAL PERIOD.—For a period of 2 years

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, regulated

13 batteries, rechargeable consumer products containing

14 regulated batteries, and rechargeable consumer

15 product packages that are labeled in substantial

16 compliance with subsection (b) shall be deemed to

17 comply with the labeling requirements of subsection

18 (b).

19 (2) CERTIFICATION.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—On application by per21 sons subject to the labeling requirements of

22 subsection (b) or the labeling requirements pro23 mulgated by the Administrator under sub24 section (d), the Administrator shall certify that

25 a different label meets the requirements of sub-
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1 section (b) or (d), respectively, if the different

2 label—

3 (i) conveys the same information as

4 the label required under subsection (b) or

5 (d), respectively; or

6 (ii) conforms with a recognized inter7 national standard that is consistent with

8 the overall purposes of this title.

9 (B) CONSTRUCTIVE CERTIFICATION.—

10 Failure of the Administrator to object to an ap11 plication under subparagraph (A) on the

12 ground that a different label does not meet ei13 ther of the conditions described in subpara14 graph (A) (i) or (ii) within 120 days after the

15 date on which the application is made shall con16 stitute certification for the purposes of this Act.

17 (d) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ADMINIS18 TRATOR.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator deter20 mines that other rechargeable batteries having elec21 trode chemistries different from regulated batteries

22 are toxic and may cause substantial harm to human

23 health and the environment if discarded into the

24 solid waste stream for land disposal or incineration,

25 the Administrator may, with the advice and counsel
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1 of State regulatory authorities and manufacturers of

2 rechargeable batteries and rechargeable consumer

3 products, and after public comment—

4 (A) promulgate labeling requirements for

5 the batteries with different electrode chem6 istries, rechargeable consumer products contain7 ing such batteries that are not easily removable

8 batteries, and packaging for the batteries and

9 products; and

10 (B) promulgate requirements for easy re11 movability of regulated batteries from recharge12 able consumer products designed to contain

13 such batteries.

14 (2) SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITY.—The regula15 tions promulgated under paragraph (1) shall be sub16 stantially similar to the requirements set forth in

17 subsections (a) and (b).

18 (e) UNIFORMITY.—After the effective dates of a re19 quirement set forth in subsection (a), (b), or (c) or a regu20 lation promulgated by the Administrator under subsection

21 (d), no Federal agency, State, or political subdivision of

22 a State may enforce any easy removability or environ23 mental labeling requirement for a rechargeable battery or

24 rechargeable consumer product that is not identical to the

25 requirement or regulation.
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1 (f) EXEMPTIONS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any re3 chargeable consumer product, any person may sub4 mit an application to the Administrator for an ex5 emption from the requirements of subsection (a) in

6 accordance with the procedures under paragraph

7 (2). The application shall include the following infor8 mation:

9 (A) A statement of the specific basis for

10 the request for the exemption.

11 (B) The name, business address, and tele12 phone number of the applicant.

13 (2) GRANTING OF EXEMPTION.—Not later than

14 60 days after receipt of an application under para15 graph (1), the Administrator shall approve or deny

16 the application. On approval of the application the

17 Administrator shall grant an exemption to the appli18 cant. The exemption shall be issued for a period of

19 time that the Administrator determines to be appro20 priate, except that the period shall not exceed 2

21 years. The Administrator shall grant an exemption

22 on the basis of evidence supplied to the Adminis23 trator that the manufacturer has been unable to

24 commence manufacturing the rechargeable consumer

25 product in compliance with the requirements of this
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1 section and with an equivalent level of product per2 formance without the product—

3 (A) posing a threat to human health, safe4 ty, or the environment; or

5 (B) violating requirements for approvals

6 from governmental agencies or widely recog7 nized private standard-setting organizations (in8 cluding Underwriters Laboratories).

9 (3) RENEWAL OF EXEMPTION.—A person

10 granted an exemption under paragraph (2) may

11 apply for a renewal of the exemption in accordance

12 with the requirements and procedures described in

13 paragraphs (1) and (2). The Administrator may

14 grant a renewal of such an exemption for a period

15 of not more than 2 years after the date of the grant16 ing of the renewal.

17 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENTS.

18 For the purposes of carrying out the collection, stor19 age, transportation, and recycling or proper disposal of

20 used rechargeable batteries, batteries described in section

21 3(3)(C) or in title II, and used rechargeable consumer

22 products containing rechargeable batteries that are not

23 easily removable rechargeable batteries, persons involved

24 in collecting, storing, or transporting such batteries or

25 products to a facility for recycling or proper disposal shall,
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1 notwithstanding any other law, be regulated in the same

2 manner and with the same limitations as if the persons

3 were collecting, storing, or transporting batteries subject

4 to subpart G of part 266 of title 40, Code of Federal Reg5 ulations, as in effect on January 1, 1993, except that sec6 tions 264.76, 265.76, and 268.7 of that title shall not

7 apply.

8 SEC. 105. COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.

9 Notwithstanding any other law, if 2 or more persons

10 who participate in projects or programs to collect and

11 properly manage used rechargeable batteries or products

12 powered by rechargeable batteries advise the Adminis13 trator of their intent, the persons may agree to develop

14 jointly, or to share in the costs of participating in, such

15 a project or program and to examine and rely on such

16 cost information as is collected during the project or pro17 gram.

18 TITLE II—MERCURY-CONTAIN19 ING BATTERY MANAGEMENT

20 ACT

21 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

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

23 Battery Management Act’’.
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1 SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

2 The purpose of this title is to phase out the use of

3 batteries containing mercury.

4 SEC. 203. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ALKALINE-MAN5 GANESE BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

6 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro7 motional purposes any alkaline-manganese battery manu8 factured on or after January 1, 1996, with a mercury con9 tent that was intentionally introduced (as distinguished

10 from mercury that may be incidentally present in other

11 materials), except that the limitation on mercury content

12 in alkaline-manganese button cells shall be 25 milligrams

13 of mercury per button cell.

14 SEC. 204. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF ZINC-CARBON

15 BATTERIES CONTAINING MERCURY.

16 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro17 motional purposes any zinc-carbon battery manufactured

18 on or after January 1, 1996, that contains mercury that

19 was intentionally introduced as described in section 203.

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

21 MERCURIC-OXIDE BATTERIES.

22 No person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for pro23 motional purposes any button cell mercuric-oxide battery

24 for use in the United States on or after January 1, 1996.
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1 SEC. 206. LIMITATIONS ON THE SALE OF OTHER MER2 CURIC-OXIDE BATTERIES.

3 (a) PROHIBITION.—On or after January 1, 1996, no

4 person shall sell, offer for sale, or offer for promotional

5 purposes a mercuric-oxide battery for use in the United

6 States unless the battery manufacturer—

7 (1) identifies a collection site that has all re8 quired Federal, State, and local government approv9 als, to which persons may send used mercuric-oxide

10 batteries for recycling or proper disposal;

11 (2) informs each of its purchasers of mercuric12 oxide batteries of the collection site identified under

13 paragraph (1); and

14 (3) informs each of its purchasers of mercuric15 oxide batteries of a telephone number that the pur16 chaser may call to get information about sending

17 mercuric-oxide batteries for recycling or proper dis18 posal.

19 (b) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section does

20 not apply to a sale or offer of a mercuric-oxide button

21 cell battery.

22 SEC. 207. NEW PRODUCT OR USE.

23 On petition of a person that proposes a new use for

24 a battery technology described in this title or the use of

25 a battery described in this title in a new product, the Ad26 ministrator may exempt from this title the new use of the
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1 technology or use of battery in the new product on the

2 condition, if appropriate, that there exist reasonable safe3 guards to ensure that the resulting battery or product

4 without an easily removable battery will not be disposed

5 of in an incinerator, composting facility, or landfill (other

6 than a facility regulated under subtitle C of the Solid

7 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.).

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