II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1939

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that 

the public is provided adequate notice and education on the effects 

of exposure to mercury through the development of health advisories 

and by requiring that such appropriate advisories be posted, or made 

readily available, at all businesses that sell fresh, frozen, and canned 

fish and seafood where the potential for mercury exposure exists. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 24, 2003

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

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to ensure that the public is provided adequate notice 

and education on the effects of exposure to mercury 

through the development of health advisories and by 

requiring that such appropriate advisories be posted, or 

made readily available, at all businesses that sell fresh, 

frozen, and canned fish and seafood where the potential 

for mercury exposure exists.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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•S 1939 IS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury Health Advi3 sory Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 

7 (1) Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative 

8 heavy metal that poses a significant risk to human 

9 health, wildlife, and the environment. 

10 (2) Mercury discharges into the atmosphere and 

11 surface oceans have increased two-to-five fold since 

12 the beginning of the industrialized period due to 

13 human activities. 

14 (3) Substantial evidence is accumulating that 

15 exposure to methyl-mercury is widespread in the 

16 general public and occurring at higher than health17 based levels of concern according to the Food and 

18 Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection 

19 Agency, and the World Health Organization. Fish 

20 and seafood caught or sold in the United States are 

21 contaminated with methyl-mercury, a toxic element 

22 that may cause neurological damage and other 

23 health-related problems as a result of fish or seafood 

24 consumption. 

25 (4) According to the 1997 Environmental Pro26 tection Agency Mercury Report to Congress, mer-
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1 cury levels in the following fish, at least occasionally, 

2 exceeded the Food and Drug Administration’s ‘‘ac3 tion level’’ limit of 1 part per million: tilefish, king 

4 mackerel, shark, swordfish, tuna, lobster, red snap5 per, saltwater and freshwater bass, bluefish, 

6 bluegills, catfish, crappie, groupers, hake, halibut, 

7 northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, pompano, 

8 snook, sunfish, and other finfish. 

9 (5) The Food and Drug Administration advises 

10 pregnant women and women of childbearing age not 

11 to eat shark, king mackerel, tilefish, and swordfish 

12 and to limit consumption of all other fish to 12 

13 ounces per week. The Food and Drug Administra14 tion advises other persons to limit their consumption 

15 of shark and swordfish to no more than 7 ounces 

16 per week. 

17 (6) The Environmental Protection Agency rec18 ommends that women who are pregnant or who may 

19 become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young chil20 dren limit fish consumption to 6 meals per week of 

21 cooked fish or an 8-ounce meal per week for 

22 uncooked fish for adults and 2 meals per week of 

23 cooked fish or a 3-ounce meal per week of uncooked 

24 fish for young children. 
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1 (7) In 2003, 44 States issued health advisories 

2 that warned the public about consuming mercury3 tainted fish, as compared to 27 States that issued 

4 such advisories in 1993. 

5 (8) Eleven States warn pregnant women and 

6 young children to limit consumption of canned tuna, 

7 the most consumed fish in the United States, to 1 

8 or 2 cans per week and some States warn that the 

9 ‘‘white’’ albacore canned tuna has significantly high10 er mercury levels than the ‘‘light’’ tuna, based upon 

11 Food and Drug Administration testing. 

12 (9) Data from the National Health and Nutri13 tion Examination Survey Centers indicates that 7.8 

14 percent of women of childbearing age have blood 

15 mercury levels in their bodies above what is consid16 ered safe for the developing fetus, translating into 

17 over 300,000 babies born each year in the United 

18 States at risk of mercury poisoning. 

19 (10) Between 30 percent and 50 percent of 

20 women of childbearing age are not aware of the 

21 methyl-mercury exposure risks from ingestion of 

22 mercury-contaminated fish, according to the Food 

23 and Drug Administration. 

24 (11) A January 2001 report by the United 

25 States General Accounting Office (GAO) criticized 
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1 the Food and Drug Administration for not providing 

2 guidance to the fishing industry to identify and pre3 vent fish contaminated with mercury from reaching 

4 consumers, even though the Agency’s own testing

5 found that, for example, over half of the swordfish 

6 exceeded its action level of one part per million 

7 (ppm). 

8 (12) Evidence is continuing to emerge linking 

9 increased risk of coronary heart disease to mercury 

10 exposure, as presented in at least 2 peer reviewed 

11 studies. 

12 (13) Health advisory information on mercury13 contaminated fish, which is necessary to protect 

14 public health, is not widely known by the State or 

15 Federal Government. This lack of awareness poten16 tially threatens tens of millions of Americans who 

17 may unknowingly ingest harmful amounts of mer18 cury because they are not aware of exposure risks 

19 from consumption of freshwater fish and seafood. 

20 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—

21 (1) ensure that the public is adequately in22 formed about the potential adverse effects of mer23 cury exposure through the consumption of fish prod24 ucts; 
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1 (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services to work cooperatively with other Federal 

3 and State agencies, as well as nonprofit organiza4 tions, to create appropriate advisories for the dis5 tribution to the public of explanations of the poten6 tial adverse effects of mercury exposure from fish 

7 consumption; 

8 (3) require the Administrator of the Environ9 mental Protection Agency to work cooperatively with 

10 State fish and game officials to create an inform11 ative guide for distribution to the public about the 

12 dangers of the consumption of recreationally-caught 

13 fish; 

14 (4) require the Food and Drug Administration 

15 to resume its seafood methyl-mercury monitoring 

16 program to better document mercury levels in var17 ious fish species sold in commerce; 

18 (5) require the Secretary of Health and Human 

19 Services, in cooperation with private and public or20 ganizations, to design and implement a National 

21 Public Education Program regarding the presence of 

22 methyl-mercury in seafood and fish consumption 

23 advisories for methyl-mercury; and 

24 (6) require the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency to annually prepare a re-
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1 port on the impacts of mercury on human health 

2 and the environment. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency. 

8 (2) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis9 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Food and 

10 Drugs. 

11 (3) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—The term 

12 ‘‘health professional’’ means any licensed profes13 sional in the dental and medical profession. 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

16 SEC. 4. ADVISORY NOTICES. 

17 (a) CONSUMER MERCURY ADVISORY NOTICE.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator and the 

19 Commissioner shall jointly develop fish consumption 

20 advisories for methyl-mercury in fish. Such 

21 advisories shall be based on the Environmental Pro22 tection Agency’s Reference Dose for—

23 (A) the general population; 

24 (B) sensitive populations; and 
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1 (C) populations consuming above average 

2 amounts of fish. 

3 (2) CONSUMER’S NOTICE.—The Secretary, in 

4 consultation with the Administrator and the heads 

5 of State environmental agencies and health depart6 ments, shall prepare a consumer’s mercury advisory 

7 notice. Such notice shall be distributed widely by the 

8 Secretary, at no cost, to health professionals, par9 ticularly medical offices that provide gynecological, 

10 obstetrical, or pediatric care, and to the extent prac11 ticable shall be made available and posted in the pa12 tient or client areas of all maternal and child health 

13 and nutrition program offices, and shall be made 

14 available to health care providers, Federal, State, 

15 and local government agencies, and the general pub16 lic upon request. 

17 (3) CRITERIA.—The advisories developed under 

18 this subsection shall—

19 (A) explain, in an easily understandable 

20 manner, the dangers of mercury exposure 

21 through the consumption of mercury contami22 nated fish to women of childbearing age, women 

23 who expect to become pregnant, women who are 

24 pregnant or breast feeding their children, and 

25 young children and their parents; 
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1 (B) describe, in an easily understandable 

2 manner, in detail the most current mercury 

3 health advisories prepared by the Federal Gov4 ernment concerning fish consumption, contain 

5 the toll free number established under para6 graph (4), and contain such other information 

7 as the Secretary determines appropriate; and 

8 (C) be printed in large type in English, 

9 Spanish, and other languages determined by the 

10 Secretary to be culturally and linguistically ap11 propriate. 

12 (4) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER.—The 

13 Secretary shall establish a toll-free telephone number 

14 to enable individuals to obtain additional information 

15 about the health advisories developed under this sub16 section concerning exposure to mercury from con17 sumption of fish and seafood, as well as exposure 

18 from other sources. 

19 (5) UPDATING OF INFORMATION.—The infor20 mation provided under this subsection shall be up21 dated periodically as determined necessary by the 

22 Secretary. 

23 (b) MERCURY WARNING CONSUMER’S GUIDE.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con25 sultation with the Secretary, shall prepare a con-
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1 sumer’s guide to mercury and health advisory for 

2 the consumption of recreationally-caught fish. Such 

3 guide shall be distributed, at no cost, to—

4 (A) State departments of fisheries, wildlife, 

5 and environmental law enforcement;

6 (B) all applicants for a fishing license at 

7 the time the license is issued; and 

8 (C) to public upon request. 

9 (2) CRITERIA.—The guide developed under 

10 paragraph (1) shall—

11 (A) be printed in large type in English, 

12 Spanish, and other languages determined by the 

13 Secretary to be culturally and linguistically ap14 propriate; 

15 (B) contain the toll free telephone number 

16 established by the Environmental Protection 

17 Agency that residents may call for further in18 formation about the health advisories contained 

19 in the guide. 

20 (3) UPDATING OF INFORMATION.—The guide 

21 developed under paragraph (1) shall be updated pe22 riodically as determined necessary by the Secretary. 

23 (c) CONSUMPTION ADVISORY.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta25 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Ad-
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1 ministrator, shall work with the States and other ap2 propriate entities to—

3 (A) develop and distribute regional and na4 tional advisories concerning the presence of 

5 methyl-mercury in seafood; 

6 (B) develop standardized formats for writ7 ten and broadcast advisories regarding methyl8 mercury in seafood; 

9 (C) develop and periodically upgrade infor10 mation related to mercury fish tissue test re11 sults and fish consumption advisories for meth12 yl-mercury; 

13 (D) coordinate State and local advisories 

14 in the formation of the National Public Edu15 cation Program under subsection (d)(1); and 

16 (E) coordinate with that sector of the re17 tail food industry that is engaged in the sale of 

18 any fresh, packaged, or frozen fish or seafood 

19 products intended for human consumption, con20 cerning the posting of such advisories in their 

21 place of business where fish are sold to inform 

22 women of childbearing age, pregnant, and nurs23 ing women and the parents of young children 

24 on the potential dangers of mercury that is 

25 present in certain fish or seafood. 
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1 (2) CRITERIA.—The advisories and notices de2 veloped under paragraph (1) shall include informa3 tion both on limiting the consumption of certain 

4 high level fish and seafood to the general population 

5 and, for sensitive populations such as women of 

6 childbearing age and children, stress the importance 

7 of limiting consumption of frequently consumed fish 

8 that may exceed the Environmental Protection 

9 Agency’s Reference Dose. 

10 (3) CONSUMPTION ADVISORY.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Based on information 

12 compiled by the Environmental Protection 

13 Agency, the National Marine Fisheries Services, 

14 and the Food and Drug Administration, shall 

15 work with State health, fish and wildlife, and 

16 environmental agencies to develop and periodi17 cally update a consumption advisory for any 

18 fresh, packaged, or frozen fish or seafood prod19 ucts intended for human consumption for post20 ing by retail food establishments and res21 taurants pursuant to this Act. The advisory 

22 shall provide information about the potential 

23 dangers from the ingestion of mercury from the 

24 consumption of fish and seafood by women of 

25 childbearing age, pregnant women, and young 
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1 children and other at-risk groups as determined 

2 by the Department, including populations con3 suming above-average quantities of fish and 

4 seafood. 

5 (B) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary shall 

6 make copies of the advisory developed under 

7 subparagraph (A) available to State boards of 

8 health or other State and local governmental 

9 entities that have the same authority as a State 

10 board of health for distribution to the public 

11 and to local retail food establishments and res12 taurants. 

13 (4) REQUIREMENTS.—The advisories and no14 tices developed under this subsection shall be printed 

15 in large type in English, Spanish, and other lan16 guages determined by the Secretary to be culturally 

17 and linguistically appropriate. 

18 (d) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ADVISORY SYSTEM.—

19 (1) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary, in 

20 consultation with public and nonprofit private enti21 ties (including cooperative extension services and ap22 propriate State entities), shall design and implement 

23 a national public education program regarding the 

24 presence of methyl-mercury in seafood. 
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1 (2) FEATURES.—The program developed under 

2 paragraph (1) shall provide—

3 (A) information to the public regarding—

4 (i) Federal standards and good prac5 tice requirements relating to methyl-mer6 cury in seafood; and 

7 (ii) the promotion of public awareness, 

8 understanding, and acceptance of such 

9 standards and requirements; 

10 (B) information to health professionals so 

11 that health professionals may improve the diag12 nosis and treatment of mercury-related illness 

13 and advise individuals whose health conditions 

14 place those individuals at particular risk; and 

15 (C) such other information or advice to 

16 consumers and other individuals as the Sec17 retary determines will promote the purposes of 

18 this section. 

19 (e) SAMPLING AND MONITORING.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner shall re21 sume the seafood methyl-mercury monitoring sam22 pling program of the Food and Drug Administration 

23 to assist in documenting mercury levels in various 

24 fish species. 
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1 (2) MONITORING.—The sampling program de2 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be conducted so as to 

3 provide statistically valid monitoring data with re4 spect to mercury levels in fish and seafood (includ5 ing market-basket studies) including documenting 

6 the extent to which fish with mercury levels in ex7 cess of the action level are sold in commerce. Such 

8 information, along with information gathered by the 

9 Environmental Protection Agency, shall be compiled 

10 into an annual report by the Commissioner to track 

11 changes in dietary exposure to mercury from fish 

12 and seafood. 

13 (3) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION OF EF14 FORT.—To the extent practicable, the sampling pro15 gram described in paragraph (1) shall be consistent 

16 with, and shall be coordinated with, other seafood 

17 sampling programs that are in use, so as to avoid 

18 duplication of effort. 

19 SEC. 5. HAACP ASSESSMENT. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize the Hazard Anal22 ysis and Critical Control Point assessment to determine 

23 whether or not methyl-mercury exposure through fish con24 sumption is a public health hazard. 
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) PUBLIC EDUCATION AND ADVISORY SYSTEM.—

3 There is authorized to be appropriated to develop and im4 plement the public education and advisory system under 

5 section 3(d), $500,000 for each fiscal year. 

6 (b) SAMPLING.—There is authorized to be appro7 priated to carry out sampling under section 3(e), 

8 $1,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

9 (c) STATE SUPPORT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

11 appropriated to support the efforts of States to sam12 ple noncommercial fish and inland waterways for 

13 mercury and to produce State-specific health 

14 advisories related to mercury, $2,000,000 for each 

15 fiscal year. 

16 (2) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Adminis17 trator shall distribute amounts made available under 

18 paragraph (1) equitably among the States through 

19 programs in existence on the date of enactment of 

20 this Act.

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