49564 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 206 / Thursday, October 26, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e. 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, please contact the person 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the 

full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Gordon, (215) 814–2039, or by 

email at gordon.mike@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For 

further information regarding the 

negative declaration submitted by 

Philadelphia AMS for SSI units, please 

see the information provided in the 

technical support document in the 

rulemaking docket and in the direct 

final action, with the same title, that is 

located in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ 

section of this issue of the Federal 

Register. The negative declaration letter 

submitted by Philadelphia AMS and 

technical support document in support 

of this action are also available online 

at www.regulations.gov. 

Dated: October 11, 2017. 

Cecil Rodrigues, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region III. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23231 Filed 10–25–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 713 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2017–0421; FRL–9970–07] 

RIN 2070–AK22 

Mercury; Reporting Requirements for 

the TSCA Mercury Inventory 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: As required under section 

8(b)(10)(D) of the Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA), EPA is proposing 

reporting requirements for applicable 

persons to provide information to assist 

in the preparation of an ‘‘inventory of 

mercury supply, use, and trade in the 

United States,’’ where ‘‘mercury’’ is 

defined as ‘‘elemental mercury’’ and ‘‘a 

mercury compound.’’ The requirements 

would be applicable to any person who 

manufactures (including imports) 

mercury or mercury-added products, or 

otherwise intentionally uses mercury in 

a manufacturing process. Based on the 

inventory of information collected, the 

Agency is directed to ‘‘identify any 

manufacturing processes or products 

that intentionally add mercury; and . . . 

recommend actions, including proposed 

revisions of Federal law or regulations, 

to achieve further reductions in mercury 

use.’’ At this time, EPA is not making 

such identifications or 

recommendations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 26, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2017–0421, by 

one of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. 

• Mail: Document Control Office 

(7407M), Office of Pollution Prevention 

and Toxics (OPPT), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: To make special 

arrangements for hand delivery or 

delivery of boxed information, please 

follow the instructions at http://

www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.html. 

Additional instructions on 

commenting or visiting the docket, 

along with more information about 

dockets generally, is available at http:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For technical information contact: 

Thomas Groeneveld, National Program 

Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution 

Prevention and Toxics, Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460–0001; 

telephone number: (202) 566–1188; 

email address: groeneveld.thomas@

epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 

South Clinton Ave. Rochester, NY 

14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 

1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Summary 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you manufacture 

(including import) mercury or mercuryadded products, or if you otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process. The following 

list of North American Industrial 

Classification System (NAICS) codes is 

not intended to be exhaustive, but rather 

provides a guide to help readers 

determine whether this document 

applies to them. Potentially affected 

entities may include: 

• Gold ore mining (NAICS code 

212221) 

• Lead ore and zinc ore mining 

(NAICS code 212231) 

• All other metal ore mining (NAICS 

code 212299) 

• Asphalt shingle and coating 

materials manufacturing (NAICS code 

324122) 

• Synthetic dye and pigment 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325130) 

• Other basic inorganic chemical 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325180) 

• All other basic organic chemical 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325199) 

• Plastics material and resin 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325211) 

• Pesticide and other agricultural 

chemical manufacturing (NAICS code 

325320) 

• Medicinal and botanical 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325411) 

• Pharmaceutical preparation 

manufacturing (NAICS code 325412) 

• Biological product (except 

diagnostic) manufacturing (NAICS code 

325414) 

• Paint and coating manufacturing 

(NAICS code 325510) 

• Adhesive manufacturing (NAICS 

code 325520) 

• Custom compounding of purchased 

resins (NAICS code 325991) 

• Photographic film, paper, plate, and 

chemical manufacturing (NAICS code 

325992) 

• All other miscellaneous chemical 

product and preparation manufacturing 

(NAICS code 325998) 

• Unlaminated plastics film and sheet 

(except packaging) manufacturing 

(NAICS code 326113) 

• Unlaminated plastics profile shape 

manufacturing (NAICS code 326121) 

• Urethane and other foam product 

(except polystyrene) manufacturing 

(NAICS code 326150) 


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• All other plastics product 

manufacturing (NAICS code 326199) 

• Tire manufacturing (NAICS code 

326211) 

• All other rubber product 

manufacturing (NAICS code 326299) 

• Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy 

manufacturing (NAICS code 331110) 

• Rolled steel shape manufacturing 

(NAICS code 331221) 

• Alumina refining and primary 

aluminum production (NAICS code 

331313) 

• Secondary smelting and alloying of 

aluminum (NAICS code 331314) 

• Nonferrous metal (except 

aluminum) smelting and refining 

(NAICS code 331410) 

• Secondary smelting, refining, and 

alloying of nonferrous metal (except 

copper and aluminum) (NAICS code 

331492) 

• Iron foundries (NAICS code 

331511) 

• Steel foundries (except investment) 

(NAICS code 331513) 

• Fabricated structural metal 

manufacturing (NAICS code 332312) 

• Industrial valve manufacturing 

(NAICS code 332911) 

• Ammunition except small arms 

manufacturing (NAICS code 332993) 

• Small arms, ordnance, and 

ordnance accessories manufacturing 

(NAICS code 332994) 

• All other miscellaneous fabricated 

metal product manufacturing (NAICS 

code 332999) 

• Food product machinery 

manufacturing (NAICS code 333294) 

• Office machinery manufacturing 

(NAICS code 333313) 

• Other commercial and service 

industry machinery manufacturing 

(NAICS code 333319) 

• Heating equipment (except warm 

air furnaces) manufacturing (NAICS 

code 333414) 

• Air-conditioning and warm air 

heating equipment and commercial and 

industrial refrigeration equipment 

manufacturing (NAICS code 333415) 

• Pump and pumping equipment 

manufacturing (NAICS code 333911) 

• Bare printed circuit board 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334412) 

• Semiconductor and related device 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334413) 

• Other electronic component 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334419) 

• Electromedical and 

electrotherapeutic apparatus 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334510) 

• Search, detection, navigation, 

guidance, aeronautical, and nautical 

system and instrument manufacturing 

(NAICS code 334511) 

• Automatic environmental control 

manufacturing for residential, 

commercial, and appliance use (NAICS 

code 334512) 

• Instruments and related products 

manufacturing for measuring, 

displaying, and controlling industrial 

process variables (NAICS code 334513) 

• Totalizing fluid meter and counting 

device manufacturing (NAICS code 

334514) 

• Instrument manufacturing for 

measuring and testing electricity and 

electrical signals (NAICS code 334515) 

• Analytical laboratory instrument 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334516) 

• Watch, clock, and part 

manufacturing (NAICS code 334518) 

• Other measuring and controlling 

device manufacturing (NAICS code 

334519) 

• Electric lamp bulb and part 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335110) 

• Commercial, industrial, and 

institutional electric lighting fixture 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335122) 

• Other lighting equipment 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335129) 

• Electric house wares and household 

fan manufacturing (NAICS code 335211) 

• Household vacuum cleaner 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335212) 

• Household cooking appliance 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335221) 

• Household refrigerator and home 

freezer manufacturing (NAICS code 

335222) 

• Household laundry equipment 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335224) 

• Other major household appliance 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335228) 

• Switchgear and switchboard 

apparatus manufacturing (NAICS code 

335313) 

• Relay and industrial control 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335314) 

• Primary battery manufacturing 

(NAICS code 335912) 

• Current-carrying wiring device 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335931) 

• All other miscellaneous electrical 

equipment and component 

manufacturing (NAICS code 335999) 

• Light truck and utility vehicle 

manufacturing (NAICS code 336112) 

• Heavy duty truck manufacturing 

(NAICS code 336120) 

• Motor home manufacturing (NAICS 

code 336213) 

• Travel trailer and camper 

manufacturing (NAICS code 336214) 

• Other aircraft parts and auxiliary 

equipment manufacturing (NAICS code 

336413) 

• Boat building (NAICS code 336612) 

• Motorcycles and parts 

manufacturing (NAICS code 336991) 

• Surgical and medical instrument 

manufacturing (NAICS code 339112) 

• Costume jewelry and novelty 

manufacturing (NAICS code 339914) 

• Game, toy, and children’s vehicle 

manufacturing (NAICS code 339932) 

• Sign manufacturing (NAICS code 

339950) 

• Other chemical and allied products 

merchant wholesalers (NAICS code 

424690) 

• Research and development in the 

physical, engineering, and life sciences 

(except biotechnology) (NAICS code 

541712) 

• Hazardous waste treatment and 

disposal (NAICS code 562211) 

• Other nonhazardous waste 

treatment and disposal (NAICS code 

562219) 

• Materials recovery facilities (NAICS 

code 562920) 

• National security (NAICS code 

928110) 

B. What action is the Agency taking? 

EPA is issuing a proposed rule under 

TSCA section 8(b)(10) to require 

reporting to assist in the preparation of 

‘‘an inventory of mercury supply, use, 

and trade in the United States,’’ where 

‘‘mercury’’ is defined as ‘‘elemental 

mercury’’ and ‘‘a mercury compound.’’ 

Hereinafter ‘‘mercury’’ will refer to both 

elemental mercury and mercury 

compounds collectively, except where 

separately identified. This proposed 

rule would require reporting from any 

person who manufactures (including 

imports) mercury or mercury-added 

products, or otherwise intentionally 

uses mercury in a manufacturing 

process. EPA published its initial 

inventory report in the Federal Register 

on March 29, 2017 (Ref. 1), which noted 

data gaps and limitations encountered 

by the Agency in its historic reliance on 

publicly available data on the mercury 

market in the United States. As stated in 

the initial inventory report, ‘‘[f]uture 

triennial inventories of mercury supply, 

use, and trade are expected to include 

data collected directly from persons 

who manufacture or import mercury or 

mercury-added products, or otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process’’ (Ref. 1). These 

proposed reporting requirements would 

help the Agency narrow such data gaps, 

as well as to prepare subsequent, 

triennial publications of the inventory, 

and to execute the mandate to ‘‘identify 

any manufacturing processes or 

products that intentionally add 

mercury; and . . . recommend actions, 

including proposed revisions of Federal 

law or regulations, to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use’’ (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(C)). 

In addition, this information could be 

used by the U.S. Government to assist 

in its national reporting regarding its 

implementation of the Minamata 


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49566 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 206 / Thursday, October 26, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

Convention on Mercury (Minamata 

Convention), to which the United States 

is a Party (Ref. 2). The Minamata 

Convention is an international 

environmental agreement that has as its 

objective the protection of human health 

and the environment from 

anthropogenic emissions and releases of 

elemental mercury and mercury 

compounds. Article 21 of the 

Convention requires Parties to include 

in their national reports, among other 

information, information demonstrating 

that the Party has met the requirements 

of Article 3 on Mercury Supply Sources 

and Trade and of Article 5 on 

Manufacturing Processes in Which 

Mercury or Mercury Compounds Are 

Used. As proposed, the reporting 

requirements of the proposed rule will 

further enhance the understanding of 

the use of mercury in the United States, 

in particular with respect to mercury 

supply sources and trade, mercuryadded products, and manufacturing 

processes, thus providing a body of 

information that will assist the United 

States in its implementation of the 

reporting requirements of the Minamata 

Convention. EPA intends to use the 

collected information to implement 

TSCA and shape the Agency’s efforts to 

reduce the use of mercury in commerce. 

In so doing, the Agency would conduct 

a timely evaluation and refinement of 

these reporting requirements so that 

they are efficient and non-duplicative 

for reporters. 

EPA is proposing that supply, use, 

and trade of mercury include reporting 

requirements for activities comparable 

to established TSCA terms: 

Manufacture, import, distribution in 

commerce, storage, and export. The 

reporting requirements also would 

apply to otherwise intentional use of 

mercury in a manufacturing process. 

Persons who manufacture (including 

import) mercury or mercury-added 

products, or otherwise intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process, 

would report amounts of mercury in 

pounds (lbs.) used in such activities 

during a designated reporting year. 

Reporters also would identify specific 

mercury compounds, mercury-added 

products, manufacturing processes, and 

how mercury is used in manufacturing 

processes, as applicable, from preselected lists. For certain activities, 

reporters would provide additional, 

contextual data (e.g., country(ies) of 

origin/destination for imports/exports 

and NAICS codes for mercury or 

mercury-added products distributed in 

commerce). 

The proposed reporting requirements 

would not apply to persons engaged in 

the generation, handling, or 

management of mercury-containing 

waste, unless that person manufactures 

or recovers mercury in the management 

of that waste with the intent to use the 

recovered mercury or store it for use. In 

addition, persons engaged in trade (e.g., 

brokering, selling wholesale, shipping, 

warehousing, repackaging, or retail 

sale), but who do not first manufacture 

mercury or mercury-added products, or 

otherwise intentionally use mercury in 

a manufacturing process, are not 

required to report. Finally, in an effort 

to avoid reporting that is unnecessary or 

duplicative, the Agency is proposing 

certain exemptions for persons who 

already report for mercury and mercuryadded products to the TSCA section 8(a) 

Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule and 

the Interstate Mercury Education and 

Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC). 

In addition to topics where EPA notes 

that we are seeking specific comment, 

the Agency also encourages comment on 

all aspects of this proposal. 

C. Why is the Agency taking this action? 

EPA is issuing a proposed rule under 

TSCA section 8(b)(10) to require 

reporting to assist in the preparation of 

the statutorily-required inventory of 

mercury supply, use, and trade in the 

United States. This proposed rule would 

require reporting from any person who 

manufactures (including imports) 

mercury or mercury-added products, or 

otherwise intentionally uses mercury in 

a manufacturing process. After the 

publication of its initial inventory report 

in the Federal Register on March 29, 

2017 (Ref. 1), the Agency is proposing 

this rule to support future, triennial 

publications of the mercury inventory. 

In administering this mercury 

inventory, the Agency would ‘‘identify 

any manufacturing processes or 

products that intentionally add 

mercury; and . . . recommend actions, 

including proposed revisions of Federal 

law or regulations, to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use’’ (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(C)). 

D. What is the Agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

EPA is issuing this proposed rule 

pursuant to TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D) to 

implement the direction at TSCA 

section 8(b)(10)(B) that ‘‘[n]ot later than 

April 1, 2017, and every 3 years 

thereafter, the Administrator shall carry 

out and publish in the Federal Register 

an inventory of mercury supply, use, 

and trade in the United States’’ (15 

U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(B)). TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(D) requires EPA to promulgate 

a final rule by June 22, 2018 that 

establishes reporting requirements 

applicable to any person who 

manufactures mercury or mercuryadded products or otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process to assist in the 

preparation of the inventory (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(D)). However, persons 

‘‘engaged in the generation, handling, or 

management of mercury-containing 

waste, unless that person manufactures 

or recovers mercury in the management 

of that waste’’ are not required to report 

to the mercury inventory (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(D)(iii)). 

In addition, the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) requires Federal agencies to 

manage information resources to reduce 

information collection burdens on the 

public; increase program efficiency and 

effectiveness; and improve the integrity, 

quality, and utility of information to all 

users within and outside an agency, 

including capabilities for ensuring 

dissemination of public information, 

public access to Federal Government 

information, and protections for privacy 

and security (44 U.S.C. 3506). 

Section 2 of TSCA expresses the 

intent of Congress that EPA carry out 

TSCA in a reasonable and prudent 

manner, and in consideration of the 

impacts that any action taken under 

TSCA may have on the environment, 

the economy, and society (15 U.S.C. 

2601). EPA is proposing to manage and 

leverage its information resources, 

including information technology, to 

require the use of electronic reporting in 

order to implement the mercury 

inventory reporting requirements of 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D) in a reasonable 

and prudent manner. 

E. What are the estimated incremental 

impacts of the proposed rule? 

EPA has prepared an economic 

analysis of the potential impacts 

associated with this rulemaking (Ref. 3). 

The chief benefit of the proposed rule is 

the collection of detailed data on 

mercury, which will serve as a basis to 

recommend actions to further reduce 

mercury use in the United States, as 

required at TSCA section 8(b)(10)(C). 

Another benefit is the use of 

information collected under the 

proposed rule to help the United States 

implement its obligations under the 

Minamata Convention. There are no 

quantified benefits for the proposed 

rule. The statutory mandate specifically 

calls for and authorizes a rule to support 

an inventory of mercury supply, use, 

and trade in the United States, in order 

to identify any manufacturing processes 

or products that intentionally add 

mercury and recommend actions to 

achieve further reductions in mercury 

use. As described in the Agency’s 

economic analysis, unquantified 


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benefits include providing increased 

information on mercury and assisting in 

the reduction of mercury use (Ref. 3). To 

the extent that the information gathered 

through this rule is used to reduce 

mercury use, benefits to society will 

result from a reduction in exposure. 

EPA seeks public comment on all 

aspects of the economic analysis. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF COSTS AND BENEFITS OF PROPOSAL

Category Description 

Benefits ................................................... The proposed rule would provide information on mercury and mercury-added products to which the 

Agency (and the public) does not currently have access. To the extent that the information gathered through this proposed rule is used to reduce mercury use, benefits to society will result from a 

reduction in risk. 

Costs ....................................................... Estimated industry costs and burden total $5.96 million and 74,000 hours (for up to 750 respondents) 

for the first year of reporting, with an individual estimate of $7,900 and 99 hours. For future triennial 

reporting cycles, industry costs and burden would be $4.37 million and 54,300 hours, with an individual estimate of $5,800 and 72 hours. These estimates include compliance determination, rule familiarization, CBI substantiation, electronic reporting, and recordkeeping, in addition to completing 

reporting requirements. 

Effects on State, Local, and Tribal Governments.Government entities are not expected to be subject to the rule’s requirements, which apply to entities 

that manufacture (including import) mercury or mercury-added products, or otherwise intentionally 

use mercury in a manufacturing process. The proposed rule does not have a significant intergovernmental mandate, significant or unique effect on small governments, or have Federalism implications. 

Small Entity Impacts ............................... The proposed rule would impact 211 companies that meet the U.S. Small Business Administration 

(SBA) definitions for their respective NAICS classifications: 4 small entities (1.85%) are expected to 

incur impacts of 1% percent or greater, and 1 of the small entities assessed is expected to incur 

impacts of greater than 3%. Furthermore, even if the entities whose status is ‘‘undetermined’’ were 

assumed to be impacted small entities, this would result in only 9 entities (4.17%). Therefore, EPA 

certifies that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 

small entities. 

Environmental Justice and Protection of 

Children.

The information obtained from the reporting required by this proposed rule would be used to inform 

the Agency’s decision-making process regarding chemicals to which minority or low-income populations or children may be disproportionately exposed. This information would also assist the Agency and others in determining whether elemental mercury and mercury compounds addressed in this 

proposed rule present potential risks, allowing the Agency and others to take appropriate action to 

investigate and mitigate those risks. 

F. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments for EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this 

information to EPA through 

regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark 

the part or all of the information that 

you claim to be CBI. For CBI 

information in a disk or CD–ROM that 

you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the 

disk or CD–ROM as CBI and then 

identify electronically within the disk or 

CD–ROM the specific information that 

is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 

complete version of the comment that 

includes information claimed as CBI, a 

copy of the comment that does not 

contain the information claimed as CBI 

must be submitted for inclusion in the 

public docket. Information so marked 

will not be disclosed except in 

accordance with procedures set forth in 

40 CFR part 2. 

2. Tips for preparing your comments. 

When preparing and submitting your 

comments, see the commenting tips at 

http://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

comments.html. 

II. Background 

A. Background on Mercury 

Mercury is a naturally occurring 

element that originates in the earth’s 

crust and can be found in air, water, 

fish, and other biota. Mercury exists in 

three forms: Elemental, organic 

compounds, and inorganic compounds. 

Elemental mercury (Chemical 

Abstracts Service Registry Number 

(CASRN) 7439–97–6) is a shiny, silverwhite metal that is liquid at room 

temperature. Mercury compounds are 

formed when elemental mercury reacts 

with another substance, either in nature 

or intentionally by humans. Organic 

mercury compounds are formed in the 

environment when mercury combines 

with carbon. Inorganic mercury 

compounds take the form of mercury 

salts. EPA’s TSCA Chemical Substance 

Inventory lists 69 mercury compounds 

(Ref. 4). 

In the United States, elemental 

mercury and mercury compounds are 

used in the manufacture of mercuryadded products and certain 

manufacturing processes. The typical 

lifecycle of products includes 

manufacture, distribution in commerce 

(including transport and storage), use, 

and waste management (landfilling or 

recycling). At any point in the product 

lifecycle, there is potential for mercury 

to be released. Globally, the major 

anthropogenic sources of released 

elemental mercury are the combustion 

of coal and use of elemental mercury in 

artisanal gold mining (Ref. 5). Emitted 

elemental mercury can be transported in 

the atmosphere on local, regional, and 

global scales as it cycles through air, 

land, and water (Ref. 6). Some of the 

emitted elemental mercury following 

deposition and transformation into 

divalent mercury can be biotransformed 

into methylmercury (Ref. 6). 

Methylmercury is a persistent and 

bioaccumulative neurotoxicant. 

Exposure to methylmercury most 

commonly occurs when people eat 

kinds of fish and shellfish that have 

high levels of methylmercury in their 

tissues (Ref. 7). Almost all people have 

at least small amounts of 

methylmercury in their bodies, 

reflecting the widespread presence of 

methylmercury in the environment (Ref. 

7). People exposed to high levels of 

methylmercury may experience adverse 

health effects (Ref. 7). Generally, the 

subtlest indicators of methylmercury 

toxicity are neurological changes (Ref. 

7). Neurotoxic effects at comparatively 

low doses include subtle decrements in 

motor skills and sensory ability, while 

extremely high exposures can cause 

tremors, inability to walk, convulsions, 

and death (Ref. 7). Exposure to mercury 

can also cause adverse ecological effects 


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in plants, birds, fish, and mammals (Ref. 

6). 

B. Recent Amendments to TSCA 

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical 

Safety for the 21st Century Act 

(Lautenberg Act) (Pub. L. 114–182, 130 

Stat. 448), enacted on June 22, 2016, 

implemented reforms to TSCA. Among 

other changes to TSCA, the Lautenberg 

Act amended TSCA section 8(b) to 

require EPA to establish: (1) An 

inventory of mercury supply, use, and 

trade in the United States; and (2) 

reporting requirements by rule 

applicable to any person who 

manufactures mercury or mercuryadded products or otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process not later than 

June 22, 2018. (15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)). 

Information collected per the proposed 

reporting requirements would be used 

to periodically update the mercury 

inventory; identify any manufacturing 

processes or products that intentionally 

add mercury; and recommend actions, 

including proposed revisions of federal 

law or regulations, to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)). The Lautenberg Act also 

added certain mercury compounds to 

the TSCA section 12(c) ban on exporting 

of elemental mercury and authorized 

EPA to ban the export of additional 

mercury compounds by rule (15 U.S.C. 

2611(c)). The Lautenberg Act also 

implemented other changes to the 

Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 

(MEBA) (Pub. L. 110–414, 122 Stat. 

4341). Additional information on the 

Lautenberg Act is available on EPA’s 

Web site at https://www.epa.gov/ 

assessing-and-managing-chemicalsunder-tsca/frank-r-lautenberg-chemicalsafety-21st-century-act. 

C. Trends in Mercury Supply, Use, and 

Trade in the United States 

Humans have mined, refined, and 

used mercury for a wide variety of 

purposes over thousands of years. In the 

United States, mercury was mined until 

1991, but today is produced only as a 

byproduct of metals mining or by 

recovering mercury from waste (Ref. 8). 

In recent decades, mercury served as a 

catalyst in the chlor-alkali industry and 

in a variety of industrial, commercial, 

and consumer products (Ref. 8). Due to 

its toxicity and replacement by new 

technologies, many uses of mercury 

have been discontinued in the United 

States, and the overall quantity used has 

fallen dramatically in recent decades. 

For example, over the past three 

decades there has been a strong 

downward trend of more than 97 

percent in the use of mercury in 

mercury-added products sold in the 

United States. In 1980, the United States 

used more than 1,800 metric tons of 

mercury in mercury-added products 

annually (Ref. 8). As described in the 

initial inventory conducted by EPA in 

2017, by 2013, only approximately 40 

metric tons of mercury in products were 

sold in the United States (Ref. 1). Many 

of these products sold have costeffective, non-mercury substitutes (Ref. 

1). The United States also has traded 

elemental mercury and mercury 

compounds worldwide, although MEBA 

prohibited the export of elemental 

mercury as of January 1, 2013 and 

prohibits the export of certain mercury 

compounds as of January 1, 2020. 

Prior to developing its initial 

inventory, EPA reviewed federal and 

state reports and databases, among other 

sources, in order to assemble a 

collection of available information on 

mercury, mercury-added products, and 

manufacturing processes involving 

mercury (Ref. 1). In reviewing data 

obtained, the Agency found that its 

baseline of data lacked the specificity 

and level of detail required to develop 

a mercury inventory responsive to 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D) or to be useful 

to inform mercury use reduction efforts 

for both the public and private sectors 

(Ref. 1). For example, in 2015, to 

develop its understanding of domestic 

mercury supply and trade, the Agency 

collected information on the quantity of 

mercury sold in the United States for 

the years 2010 and 2013 from five 

companies identified as the primary 

recyclers and distributors of mercury in 

the United States (Ref. 9). Comparing 

totals for mercury sold in products and 

the amount of bulk mercury sold in the 

United States in 2013 revealed a 

significant data gap of approximately 26 

metric tons. IMERC data showed 

approximately 40 metric tons of 

mercury in mercury-added products 

sold in the United States in 2013. The 

information collected by the Agency for 

bulk elemental mercury manufactured 

and processed in the United States in 

the same year was approximately 66 

metric tons. In this instance, EPA 

determined that mercury may be used in 

manufacturing processes, including as a 

reactant or formulation component, 

which may not be reflected in the 

amount of mercury reported as sold in 

products. An additional data gap 

identified was the amount of mercury in 

exported mercury-added products. The 

Agency is also seeking to be able to 

differentiate between the amount of 

mercury in imported mercury-added 

products and the amount in mercuryadded products manufactured in the 

United States. For example, importation 

or domestic manufacture of mercuryadded products may or may not be 

reflected in data reported as domestic 

sale of mercury-added products. EPA is 

committed to further addressing such 

data gaps and considers the national 

mercury inventory mandated by 

Congress to be an instrumental means to 

establish the requisite body of 

information to support achievement of 

that goal. 

D. Stakeholder Involvement 

In developing the proposed rule, the 

agency coordinated with the Northeast 

Waste Management Officials’ 

Association, which administers the 

IMERC database, as directed by TSCA 

section 8(b)(10)(D)(ii), to avoid 

duplication. 

III. Summary of Proposed Rule 

This proposed rule, when finalized, 

would provide for the collection of 

information that allows EPA to 

implement statutory requirements at 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(B), which directs 

that ‘‘[n]ot later than April 1, 2017, and 

every 3 years thereafter, the 

Administrator shall carry out and 

publish in the Federal Register an 

inventory of mercury supply, use, and 

trade in the United States’’ (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(B)). TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(D) directs the Agency to 

promulgate this reporting rule no later 

than two years after the date of 

enactment of the June 2016 TSCA 

amendments. Based on the inventory, 

the Agency is directed to ‘‘identify any 

manufacturing processes or products 

that intentionally add mercury; and . . . 

recommend actions, including proposed 

revisions of Federal law or regulations, 

to achieve further reductions in mercury 

use.’’ At this time, EPA is not making 

such identifications or 

recommendations. EPA’s proposal for 

fulfilling specific statutory provisions 

and terms are set forth by topic as 

follows. 

A. Definition of Mercury 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(A) states 

‘‘notwithstanding [TSCA] section 

3(2)(B), the term ‘mercury’ means . . . 

elemental mercury; and . . . a mercury 

compound’’ (15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(A)). 

As such, the definition for mercury at 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(A) supersedes the 

exclusions for ‘‘chemical substances’’ 

described in TSCA section 3(2)(B) that 

would otherwise apply to mercury, 

mercury-added products, or otherwise 

intentional uses of mercury in 

manufacturing processes. For example, 

any ‘‘drug, cosmetic, or device’’ as 

described in TSCA section 3(2)(B)(vi), 


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should such items contain mercury, 

would not be excluded from reporting 

under the proposed rule. 

For purposes of the proposed rule, the 

Agency proposes that where EPA 

distinguishes between elemental 

mercury and mercury compounds, 

elemental mercury be limited to 

elemental mercury (CASRN 7439–97–6) 

and mercury compounds be inclusive of 

all instances where elemental mercury 

or a mercury compound is reacted with 

another chemical substance. Examples 

of mercury compounds from the TSCA 

Chemical Substance Inventory are listed 

in Table 2. 

TABLE 2—LIST OF MERCURY COMPOUNDS

Chemical Abstracts Registry No. Mercury compound 

10045–94–0 .................................... Nitric acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

100–57–2 ........................................ Mercury, hydroxyphenyl-. 

10112–91–1 .................................... Mercury chloride (Hg2Cl2). 

10124–48–8 .................................... Mercury amide chloride (Hg(NH2)Cl). 

103–27–5 ........................................ Mercury, phenyl(propanoato-.kappa.O.)-. 

10415–75–5 .................................... Nitric acid, mercury(1+) salt (1:1). 

104–60–9 ........................................ Mercury, (9-octadecenoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

1191–80–6 ...................................... 9-Octadecenoic acid (9Z)-, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

12068–90–5 .................................... Mercury telluride (HgTe). 

13170–76–8 .................................... Hexanoic acid, 2-ethyl-, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

13302–00–6 .................................... Mercury, (2-ethylhexanoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

1335–31–5 ...................................... Mercury cyanide oxide (Hg2(CN)2O). 

1344–48–5 ...................................... Mercury sulfide (HgS). 

1345–09–1 ...................................... Cadmium mercury sulfide. 

13876–85–2 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, copper(1+) (1:2), (T–4)-. 

138–85–2 ........................................ Mercurate(1-), (4-carboxylatophenyl)hydroxy-, sodium (1:1). 

141–51–5 ........................................ Mercury, iodo(iodomethyl)-. 

14783–59–6 .................................... Mercury, bis[(2-phenyldiazenecarbothioic acid-.kappa.S) 2-phenylhydrazidato-.kappa.N2]-, (T–4)-. 

15385–58–7 .................................... Mercury, dibromodi-, (Hg-Hg). 

15785–93–0 .................................... Mercury, chloro[4-[(2,4-dinitrophenyl)amino]phenyl]-. 

15829–53–5 .................................... Mercury oxide (Hg2O). 

1600–27–7 ...................................... Acetic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

1785–43–9 ...................................... Mercury, chloro(ethanethiolato)-. 

19447–62–2 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)[4-[2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]diazenyl]phenyl]-. 

20582–71–2 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetrachloro-, potassium (1:2), (T–4)-. 

20601–83–6 .................................... Mercury selenide (HgSe). 

21908–53–2 .................................... Mercury oxide (HgO). 

22450–90–4 .................................... Mercury(1+), amminephenyl-, acetate (1:1). 

24579–90–6 .................................... Mercury, chloro(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-. 

24806–32–4 .................................... Mercury, [.mu.-[2-dodecylbutanedioato(2-)-.kappa.O1:.kappa.O4]]diphenyldi-. 

26545–49–3 .................................... Mercury, (neodecanoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

27685–51–4 .................................... Cobaltate(2-), tetrakis(thiocyanato-.kappa.N)-, mercury(2+) (1:1), (T–4)-. 

29870–72–2 .................................... Cadmium mercury telluride ((Cd,Hg)Te). 

3294–57–3 ...................................... Mercury, phenyl(trichloromethyl)-. 

33770–60–4 .................................... Mercury, [3,6-dichloro-4,5-di(hydroxy-.kappa.O)-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-dionato(2-)]-. 

3570–80–7 ...................................... Mercury, bis(acetato-.kappa.O)[.mu.-(3’,6’-dihydroxy-3-oxospiro[isobenzofuran-1(3H),9’-[9H]xanthene]-2’,7’- 

diyl)]di-. 

537–64–4 ........................................ Mercury, bis(4-methylphenyl)-. 

539–43–5 ........................................ Mercury, chloro(4-methylphenyl)-. 

54–64–8 .......................................... Mercurate(1-), ethyl[2-(mercapto-.kappa.S)benzoato(2-)-.kappa.O]-, sodium (1:1). 

55–68–5 .......................................... Mercury, (nitrato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

56724–82–4 .................................... Mercury, phenyl[(2-phenyldiazenecarbothioic acid-.kappa.S) 2-phenylhydrazidato-.kappa.N2]-. 

587–85–9 ........................................ Mercury, diphenyl-. 

592–04–1 ........................................ Mercury cyanide (Hg(CN)2). 

592–85–8 ........................................ Thiocyanic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

593–74–8 ........................................ Mercury, dimethyl-. 

59–85–8 .......................................... Mercurate(1-), (4-carboxylatophenyl)chloro-, hydrogen. 

623–07–4 ........................................ Mercury, chloro(4-hydroxyphenyl)-. 

62–38–4 .......................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

62638–02–2 .................................... Cyclohexanebutanoic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

627–44–1 ........................................ Mercury, diethyl-. 

6283–24–5 ...................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)(4-aminophenyl)-. 

628–86–4 ........................................ Mercury, bis(fulminato-.kappa.C)-. 

629–35–6 ........................................ Mercury, dibutyl-. 

63325–16–6 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, (T–4)-, hydrogen, compd. with 5-iodo-2-pyridinamine (1:2:2). 

63468–53–1 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-. 

63549–47–3 .................................... Mercury, bis(acetato-.kappa.O)(benzenamine)-. 

68201–97–8 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)diamminephenyl-, (T–4)-. 

72379–35–2 .................................... Mercurate(1-), triiodo-, hydrogen, compd. with 3-methyl-2(3H)-benzothiazolimine (1:1:1). 

7439–97–6 ...................................... Mercury. 

7487–94–7 ...................................... Mercury chloride (HgCl2). 

7546–30–7 ...................................... Mercury chloride (HgCl). 

7616–83–3 ...................................... Perchloric acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

7774–29–0 ...................................... Mercury iodide (HgI2). 

7783–33–7 ...................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, potassium (1:2), (T–4)-. 


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TABLE 2—LIST OF MERCURY COMPOUNDS—Continued 

Chemical Abstracts Registry No. Mercury compound 

7783–35–9 ...................................... Sulfuric acid, mercury(2+) salt (1:1). 

7783–39–3 ...................................... Mercury fluoride (HgF2). 

7789–47–1 ...................................... Mercury bromide (HgBr2). 

90–03–9 .......................................... Mercury, chloro(2-hydroxyphenyl)-. 

94070–93–6 .................................... Mercury, [.mu.-[(oxydi-2,1-ethanediyl 1,2-benzenedicarboxylato-.kappa.O2)(2-)]]diphenyldi-. 

B. Explanation of Supply, Use, and 

Trade 

Pursuant to TSCA section 8(b)(10)(B), 

EPA interprets the scope of the mercury 

inventory to include activities within 

the domestic and global commodity 

mercury market that would fall under 

‘‘supply, use, and trade of mercury in 

the United States.’’ An inventory that 

adequately accounts for mercury in 

supply, use, and trade includes 

activities of persons who must report as 

described in TSCA section 8(b)(10)(d)(i): 

Manufacture, import, and otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process. In addition, the 

Agency proposes that persons required 

to report to the mercury inventory also 

include information on distribution in 

commerce, storage, and export in order 

to provide for the requisite inventory of 

mercury supply, use, and trade in the 

United States. EPA proposes that 

reporting to cover ‘‘supply’’ include 

manufacture and storage of mercury, 

reporting to cover ‘‘use’’ include use of 

mercury to manufacture a mercuryadded product or otherwise intentional 

use of mercury in a manufacturing 

process, and reporting to cover ‘‘trade’’ 

include import, export, and distribution 

in commerce of mercury or mercuryadded products. EPA proposes that 

obtaining information related to such 

activities, including reporting quantities 

of mercury, as well as qualitative 

information related to supply, use, and 

trade, is necessary to create the 

inventory described at TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(B). Examples of such qualitative 

information include: Country of origin 

(for imports of mercury or mercuryadded products), destination country 

(for exported mercury-added products 

or certain mercury compounds), and 

identification of purchasing or receiving 

industry sectors via NAICS codes (for 

mercury or mercury-added products 

distributed in domestic commerce). 

In addition to using this information 

for the mercury inventory, this 

information would be used by the U.S. 

Government to assist in its 

implementation of the Minamata 

Convention (Ref. 2), in particular with 

respect to mercury supply sources and 

trade, mercury-added products, 

manufacturing processes in which 

mercury is used, and reporting. The 

United States is a Party to the Minamata 

Convention, which is a multilateral 

environmental agreement that addresses 

the supply, use, and trade in mercury 

by, among other actions, not allowing 

the introduction of new mercury mines 

and the phasing out of existing ones, 

phasing out and phasing down the use 

of mercury in a number of products and 

industrial processes, placing control 

measures on emissions to air and on 

releases to land and water, and taking 

action to reduce the use of mercury in 

the informal sector of artisanal and 

small-scale gold mining. EPA seeks 

comment on the proposed limited data 

collection requirements, such as the 

identification of countries that 

manufacture, import, or export mercuryadded products (i.e., countries of origin 

and destination), as well as the 

identification of purchasing or receiving 

industry sectors via NAICS codes, to 

inform activities under the Minamata 

Convention. 

In regard to certain exports of 

mercury, the Agency notes that the 

export of elemental mercury has been 

prohibited since January 1, 2013 (15 

U.S.C. 2611(c)(1)) and therefore the 

Agency is not proposing to require 

reporting on the export of elemental 

mercury from the United States. TSCA, 

as of January 1, 2020, will also prohibit 

the export of certain mercury 

compounds: Mercury (I) chloride or 

calomel; mercury (II) oxide; mercury (II) 

sulfate; mercury (II) nitrate; and 

cinnabar or mercury sulphide (the 

statute uses the term ‘‘mercury 

sulphide’’ which is an alternative 

spelling of ‘‘mercury sulfide’’ as found 

in the table above) (15 U.S.C. 

2611(c)(7)). EPA recognizes that a 

complete inventory would include at 

least one cycle of reporting prior to the 

effective date of the prohibition for 

export of the five mercury compounds 

subject to 15 U.S.C. 2611(c)(7). As such, 

the inventory would benefit from the 

recent totals of at least one cycle of 

reporting prior to the effective date of 

the prohibition for export of mercury 

compounds subject to 15 U.S.C. 

2611(c)(7) to (1) measure trends in 

supply, use, and trade; and (2) provide 

a baseline for comparison of the changes 

in the amounts of other mercury 

compounds exported after the 2020 

effective date. The Agency also 

recognizes that the 2020 effective date of 

15 U.S.C. 2611(c)(7) is such that any 

reporting on those five compounds will 

not assist the Agency in recommending 

further actions to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use because the 

export ban will be in effect as of 2020. 

Therefore, EPA requests public 

comment on whether to require onetime reporting for exports of the 

mercury compounds prohibited from 

export by 15 U.S.C. 2611(c)(7). It should 

be noted that reporting for exports of 

mercury compounds that are not 

prohibited from export by 15 U.S.C. 

2611(c)(7), as well as products that 

contain intentionally-added elemental 

mercury and/or any mercury 

compounds (including the compounds 

prohibited from export) will be 

required. 

In order to obtain information for the 

mercury inventory with the necessary 

level of detail, EPA is proposing to 

require reporting on activities that are 

subsets of defined terms. For example, 

‘‘manufacture’’ is defined in TSCA 

section 3(9) to mean: ‘‘import into the 

customs territory of the United States 

(as defined in general note 2 of the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States), produce, or 

manufacture’’ (15 U.S.C. 2602(9)). While 

both manufacture and import are 

described in the statutory definition of 

‘‘manufacture,’’ the Agency proposes to 

separate reporting for these activities of 

the mercury market in order to capture 

distinct actions by persons who handle 

and trade mercury. As such, EPA is 

proposing that persons required to 

report specify distinct amounts, if any, 

of imported or otherwise manufactured 

mercury, as well as amounts of mercury 

in imported or otherwise manufactured 

mercury-added products. 

Conversely, the activity ‘‘otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process’’ is not defined 

under TSCA. The Agency considers this 

activity to be similar, but not identical 

to the definition for ‘‘process’’ at TSCA 

section 3(13): ‘‘preparation of a 

chemical substance or mixture, after its 


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manufacture, for distribution in 

commerce . . . in the same form or 

physical state as, or in a different form 

or physical state from, that in which it 

was received by the person so preparing 

such substance or mixture, or . . . as 

part of an article containing the 

chemical substance or mixture’’ (15 

U.S.C. 2602(13)). EPA proposes to 

require reporting on both the otherwise 

intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process, as well as 

manufacture of mercury or a mercuryadded product, distinguished by 

focusing on how the mercury came to be 

present in a final product. For 

manufacture of mercury or a mercuryadded product, the Agency views such 

activities to be the intentional addition 

of mercury where mercury remains 

present in the final product for a 

particular purpose. For otherwise 

intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process, the Agency 

views such activities to be the 

intentional use of mercury, but where 

no mercury remains or any mercury 

present in the final product exists only 

as an impurity. 

Finally, TSCA section 8(f) states ‘‘[f]or 

purposes of [TSCA section 8], the terms 

‘manufacture’ and ‘process’ mean 

manufacture or process for commercial 

purposes’’ (15 U.S.C. 2607(f)). Under a 

TSCA section 8(a) reporting rule, EPA 

has previously defined ‘‘manufacture for 

commercial purposes’’ for the purposes 

of other information gathering rules to 

include ‘‘import, produce, or 

manufacture with the purpose of 

obtaining an immediate or eventual 

commercial advantage for the 

manufacturer’’ and ‘‘substances that are 

produced coincidentally during the 

manufacture, processing, use, or 

disposal of another substance or 

mixture, including both byproducts that 

are separated from that other substance 

or mixture and impurities that remain in 

that substance or mixture . . . [that] 

may, or may not, in themselves have 

commercial value’’ (40 CFR 704.3). In 

the same rule, similarly, EPA has 

defined ‘‘process for commercial 

purposes’’ as ‘‘the preparation of a 

chemical substance or mixture after its 

manufacture for distribution in 

commerce with the purpose of obtaining 

an immediate or eventual commercial 

advantage for the processor. Processing 

of any amount of a chemical substance 

or mixture is included in this definition. 

If a chemical substance or mixture 

containing impurities is processed for 

commercial purposes, then the 

impurities also are processed for 

commercial purposes’’ (40 CFR 704.3). 

EPA notes that there is a separate 

definition for ‘‘import for commercial 

purposes’’ at 40 CFR 704.3, but finds it 

to be substantially similar to germane 

portions of ‘‘manufacture for 

commercial purposes.’’ 

EPA is proposing that the terms 

‘‘manufacture,’’ ‘‘import,’’ and 

‘‘otherwise intentional use of mercury 

in a manufacturing process’’ be 

interpreted for the purposes of mercury 

inventory reporting based on the 

aforementioned definitions in 40 CFR 

704.3 and the statutory text at TSCA 

section 8(f). In regard to the 

manufacture (including import) of 

mercury as a byproduct, impurity, or 

similar occurrence, EPA considered 

whether such chemical substances are 

intentionally generated and whether 

such substances are used for 

commercial purposes. To synthesize 

these concepts, EPA is proposing to 

require reporting on mercury or 

mercury-containing byproducts 

manufactured for commercial purposes. 

Mercury generated as a byproduct not 

used for commercial purposes would 

not be subject to the proposed rule. 

In addition, EPA is proposing that 

mercury that exists as an impurity 

would not be subject to the proposed 

rule, except where such impurities are 

present in a final product produced by 

persons who otherwise intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process. 

EPA is distinguishing between the 

manufacture of mercury-added products 

versus the final products containing 

mercury that result from the intentional 

use of mercury in a manufacturing 

process. First, EPA considers the 

addition and presence of mercury in the 

final products of the former process to 

be intentional and, therefore, not an 

impurity. Conversely, EPA considers the 

presence of mercury in the final product 

resulting from the intentional use of 

mercury during the manufacturing 

processes identified in this proposed 

rule (see Unit III.D.5.) to be 

unintentional (i.e., present as an 

impurity). Second, the Agency has less 

detailed institutional knowledge of this 

category of uses and is proposing to 

collect information on mercury that 

exists as an unintended impurity in 

products in such cases to better identify 

mercury use in manufacturing 

processes, as directed in TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(C). 

EPA determined that actions 

described in the definition of 

‘‘distribution in commerce’’ at TSCA 

section 3(5): ‘‘to sell, or the sale of, the 

substance, mixture, or article in 

commerce; to introduce or deliver for 

introduction into commerce, or the 

introduction or delivery for introduction 

into commerce of, the substance, 

mixture, or article; or to hold, or the 

holding of, the substance, mixture, or 

article after its introduction into 

commerce’’ (15 U.S.C. 2602(5)), are 

adequate to describe both distribution in 

commerce and storage for the proposed 

rule. In particular, the Agency is 

interested in quantities of mercury sold 

or transferred between facilities in the 

United States. As such, EPA is 

proposing to incorporate the concept of 

‘‘domestic’’ as defined at 40 CFR 704.3 

to activities considered to be 

distribution in commerce, as opposed to 

international import and export, which 

would be covered separately. Where ‘‘to 

hold’’ or ‘‘holding of’’ (i.e., storage) is 

concerned, EPA is proposing to require 

reporting for quantities of mercury 

stored, if any, by persons who 

manufacture (including import) 

mercury, as well as those who otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process. Mercury stored 

by persons who only produce mercuryadded products would not be required 

to be reported. Moreover, the Agency is 

not proposing to require reporting for 

quantities of mercury within mercuryadded products that are stored after 

manufacture and prior to distribution in 

commerce. EPA assumes the quantity of 

mercury that manufacturers of mercuryadded products store for later use or 

keep within product inventories is 

likely to be too small to help explain the 

information gap between sold and used 

mercury. The expected value of the 

information is likely to be low 

considering the burden and cost on 

reporters. 

The Agency considered ‘‘export’’ in 

the context of ‘‘exporter’’ as defined in 

the TSCA section 12(b) export 

notification rule at 40 CFR part 707 

Subpart D: ‘‘determining and controlling 

the sending of the chemical substance or 

mixture to a destination out of the 

customs territory of the United States’’ 

40 CFR 707.63(b). For purposes of the 

proposed rule, however, the Agency 

believes that it is necessary to collect 

export data not only on certain mercury 

compounds, but also mercury-added 

products that are exported from the 

United States. As such, EPA would 

include articles in the reporting 

required for export. 

Therefore, in summary, the Agency 

proposes to require reporting for the 

following activities: 

• Import of mercury or a mercuryadded product with the purpose of 

obtaining an immediate or eventual 

commercial advantage for the importer, 

except where such mercury is generated 

as a byproduct not used for commercial 

purposes or an impurity. 


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• Manufacture (other than import) of 

mercury or a mercury-added product 

with the purpose of obtaining an 

immediate or eventual commercial 

advantage for the manufacturer, except 

where such mercury is generated as a 

byproduct not used for commercial 

purposes or an impurity. In this context, 

EPA considers manufacture to be the 

intentional production of mercury, a 

mercury compound, or a mercury-added 

product, as opposed to the uses 

described for ‘‘otherwise intentionally 

uses mercury in a manufacturing 

process.’’ Incidental manufacture of 

mercury (e.g., burning of coal or similar) 

would not be subject to the proposed 

rule. 

• Otherwise intentional use of 

mercury in a manufacturing process, 

other than the manufacture of a mercury 

compound or a mercury-added product, 

with the purpose of obtaining an 

immediate or eventual commercial 

advantage for the user, except where 

such mercury is generated as a 

byproduct not used for commercial 

purposes. 

• Distribution in commerce, 

including domestic sale or transfer, of 

mercury or a mercury-added product. 

• Storage of mercury after 

manufacture (including import). 

• Export of mercury or a mercuryadded product, including the 

determining and controlling the sending 

of mercury (unless specifically 

prohibited) or a mercury-added product 

to a destination out of the customs 

territory of the United States. 

These proposed interpretations of 

terms are intended to align with the 

structure and logical flow of reporting 

requirements described in Unit III.E. 

Nonetheless, EPA requests comment on 

the proposed interpretations of activities 

to be considered as part of supply, use, 

and trade of mercury in the United 

States. 

C. Coordination With Existing Reporting 

Programs 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D)(ii) directs 

the Agency to ‘‘coordinate the reporting 

. . . with the Interstate Mercury 

Education and Reduction 

Clearinghouse’’ to avoid duplication (15 

U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(D)(ii)). Furthermore, 

TSCA section 8(a)(5)(a) states ‘‘[i]n 

carrying out [TSCA section 8], the 

Administrator shall, to the extent 

feasible . . . not require reporting 

which is unnecessary or duplicative’’ 

(15 U.S.C. 2607(a)(5)(a)). The Agency 

seeks to avoid collecting data on 

mercury that would duplicate 

information already reported to existing 

state and federal programs, and to 

coordinate with and complement those 

reporting programs as much as possible. 

While developing this proposed rule, 

EPA reviewed four data collection 

systems applicable to supply, use, and 

trade of mercury (including mercuryadded products and mercury used in 

manufacturing processes): IMERC, the 

TSCA section 8(a) Chemical Data 

Reporting rule, the Toxics Release 

Inventory (TRI) program, and the U.S. 

International Trade Commission 

Interactive Trade DataWeb (USITC 

DataWeb). 

1. IMERC. IMERC is an online 

reporting database managed by the 

Northeast Waste Management Officials’ 

Association (NEWMOA), which 

provides publicly available, national 

data on mercury used in products. Laws 

in certain states (Connecticut, 

Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, 

Rhode Island, and Vermont—hereinafter 

‘‘IMERC Notification states’’) require 

companies that manufacture, distribute, 

or import mercury-added products to 

identify the mercury-added products 

they sell and the volume of mercury in 

them. The volume information is 

reported at a national level, although 

only companies selling mercury 

products within those states need to 

report. The IMERC database houses the 

information that is reported to IMERC 

Notification states on a triennial basis 

and provides a detailed picture of some 

aspects of the mercury product market. 

There are, however, some concerns 

about whether all nationwide sales are 

captured (i.e., no reporting requirement 

for a company that sells mercury-added 

products exclusively outside of IMERC 

Notification states). Despite such 

concerns and given the statutory 

direction to coordinate both programs, 

EPA recognizes that the proposed rule 

and IMERC reporting requirements for 

mercury-added products should be 

harmonized to the greatest extent 

practicable. 

While developing this proposed rule, 

the Agency coordinated with IMERC 

and NEWMOA to ensure that data 

collected in accordance with the 

proposed reporting requirements and 

existing IMERC reporting requirements 

would not be duplicative and that 

information collected would be shared 

to the greatest extent practicable. The 

Agency is designing the electronic 

reporting application for the mercury 

inventory that would automatically skip 

certain reporting requirement fields 

when users indicate they report to the 

IMERC Mercury-Added Products 

Database. Such users would 

automatically bypass mercury inventory 

reporting requirements that are 

comparable to those reported to IMERC. 

Specifically, those that report to IMERC 

would not be required to report the 

amount of mercury distributed in 

commerce under this proposed rule 

because EPA believes that information 

is captured by IMERC as national sales 

data. However, those that report to 

IMERC would still be required to 

provide qualitative data—NAICS codes 

related to sales data—as part of the 

distribution in commerce reporting 

requirement (see Table 4—Information 

to Report—Mercury-Added Products). 

2. TSCA Chemical Data Reporting 

Rule. EPA also sought to avoid 

duplicating the mercury reporting 

requirements of its own CDR rule (Ref. 

10) and reporting to the TRI program 

(Ref. 11). The CDR rule collects 

manufacturing, processing, and use 

information on certain chemical 

substances manufactured (including 

imported) in the United States. Persons 

required to report include those that 

manufacture (including import) for 

commercial purposes in excess of 2,500 

lbs. for a specific reporting year for 

substances meeting certain criteria, 

which include elemental mercury; or in 

excess of 25,000 lbs. for a specific 

reporting year for most other substances, 

which include mercury compounds. 

In general, CDR reporters do not 

report information on chemical 

substances in articles, unless they first 

import or domestically manufacture the 

chemical substance that they then 

incorporate into an article or product 

(Ref. 12). As discussed in regard to 

coordinating with IMERC to avoid 

duplicative reporting, the Agency’s 

intended design for the reporting 

application for the mercury inventory 

would allow a CDR reporter to 

automatically skip certain reporting 

requirement fields that would be 

considered duplicative. As an example, 

those that report to CDR would not be 

required to provide the amount of 

mercury imported, however, they would 

be required to provide qualitative 

information—in this example the 

country of origin—as part of the 

reporting requirement (see Table 3— 

Information to Report—Mercury). 

3. Toxics Release Inventory. The TRI 

program collects data on toxic chemical 

releases to air, water and land from 

industrial facilities and pollution 

prevention activities in the United 

States. The TRI program requires 

reporting when covered facilities in 

covered industrial sectors manufacture, 

process, or otherwise use more than 10 

lbs. of elemental mercury and/or 

mercury compounds per year. However, 

while the TRI program requires 

reporters to specify whether mercury is 

manufactured, processed, or otherwise 


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used in activities comparable to the 

proposed rule (e.g., article component, 

formulation component, reactant, 

chemical processing aid, manufacturing 

aid), it does not require reporting of 

quantitative data on amounts of mercury 

used for such activities or the kind of 

article involved. 

4. USITC DataWeb. Additionally, EPA 

reviewed the USITC DataWeb, which 

provides U.S. international trade 

statistics and U.S. tariff data to the 

public (Ref. 13). All trade data are 

compiled from official data retrieved 

from the U.S. Bureau of the Census 

(Census). Data on U.S. exports of 

merchandise from the United States to 

all countries, except Canada, are 

compiled from the Electronic Export 

Information filed by the U.S. Principal 

Party in Interest or their agents through 

the Automated Export System. 

Published data on U.S. imports of 

merchandise are compiled primarily 

from automated data submitted through 

the Automated Commercial System of 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP). Data are also compiled from 

import entry summary forms, 

warehouse withdrawal forms and 

Foreign Trade Zone documents as 

required by law to be filed with CBP. 

After reviewing these reporting 

programs, EPA has sought to design the 

proposed reporting requirements to be 

least burdensome for reporters already 

familiar with IMERC, CDR, TRI, and 

USITC DataWeb protocol. Therefore, the 

Agency is proposing to incorporate 

comparable reporting concepts and tools 

from each program, as well as propose 

some exemptions, in an attempt to 

increase the efficacy of while decreasing 

the burden to the greatest extent 

practicable for reporting to a national 

mercury inventory. EPA is seeking 

comment on the incorporation of the 

reporting concepts and tools from each 

program, as well as the proposed 

exemptions. 

D. Persons Who Must Report 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D)(i) states 

‘‘any person who manufactures mercury 

or mercury-added products or otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process shall make 

periodic reports to the Administrator’’ 

(15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(D)(i)). As 

explained in Unit III.B., EPA interprets 

the statutory text at TSCA sections 

8(b)(10)(B), 8(b)(10)(D)(i), and 

8(b)(10)(D)(iii) as applying to intentional 

acts that introduce mercury into supply, 

use, and trade in the United States. 

Furthermore, EPA reads TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(D)(i) to narrow potential 

reporters to persons who first 

manufacture mercury or mercury-added 

products or otherwise intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process. As 

such, EPA determined that persons who 

merely trade (e.g., brokering, selling 

wholesale, shipping, warehousing, 

repackaging, or retail sale), but do not 

manufacture or import mercury or 

mercury-added products, should not be 

subject to the proposed reporting 

requirements. Aside from its reading of 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D)(i), the Agency 

is concerned that requiring reporting 

from such entities risks: (1) Doublecounting of mercury as it moves through 

supply chains; and (2) undue burden or 

liability on entities that are not likely to 

be aware if or how mercury is present 

in products that they trade. 

1. Exemption for Persons Who 

Generate, Handle, or Manage Mercurycontaining Waste. Persons ‘‘engaged in 

the generation, handling, or 

management of mercury-containing 

waste, unless that person manufactures 

or recovers mercury in the management 

of that waste’’ are not required to report 

to the mercury inventory (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(D)(iii)). There are generally 

four sources of mercury-containing 

waste: (1) Industrial processes, which 

often generate a mixture of elemental 

mercury or mercury compounds 

combined with other substances; (2) the 

discard of mercury-added products such 

as fluorescent lamps; (3) the discard of 

elemental mercury (e.g. surplus 

commodity mercury); and (4) mercurycontaminated environmental media that 

are excavated as part of a contaminated 

site clean-up. Mercury-containing waste 

that is hazardous is regulated by the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA). 

EPA considers the following examples 

of persons and waste types to be exempt 

from reporting to the proposed rule: 

• Hazardous waste treatment facilities 

that stabilize and landfill lowconcentration mercury-containing 

waste. 

• Manufacturing facilities that: 

—Generate a mercury-containing waste 

and send it to a waste management 

facility. 

—Use mercury to manufacture products 

or otherwise intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process, 

and also generate a mercurycontaining waste from that use or 

another process. The exemption 

applies to the mercury in the facility’s 

waste but not to the quantity it uses. 

Under the proposed rule, the facility 

would report on the quantity it uses. 

—Discard mercury-added products, 

such as fluorescent light bulbs, 

switches, and thermometers, unless 

the facility also intentionally uses 

mercury in a manufacturing process. 

In that case, the facility would report 

the mercury it uses, but not the 

mercury in the products it discards 

because the products and the mercury 

within them are waste. 

• A person who uses a mercuryadded product but does not 

manufacture mercury or mercury-added 

products and does not intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process. 

• Hazardous waste treatment facilities 

that recover elemental mercury from 

mercury-containing waste and manage 

that elemental mercury as a waste. 

There are currently two primary ways in 

which recovered elemental mercury can 

be managed as a waste: Placed in longterm storage at a facility with a RCRA 

permit as allowed under Section 5(g) of 

MEBA, or converted to mercury sulfide 

and exported for disposal. 

• A generator producing mercury 

incidentally from the beneficiation or 

processing of ore or related pollution 

control activities, who accumulates this 

mercury on-site. 

• A generator who temporarily stores 

waste elemental mercury for up to 90 or 

180 days pending shipment for longterm storage or for treatment and 

disposal. The elemental mercury in all 

of these cases is not subject to the 

proposed rule. 

EPA seeks comments on the examples 

provided and requests input on other 

relevant examples that may be useful. 

The exemption at 15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(D)(iii) does not apply to 

persons who manufacture or recover 

elemental mercury in the management 

of mercury-containing waste with the 

intent to use it or store it for use. For 

example, if a waste treatment facility 

retorts or distills mercury-containing 

waste to recover elemental mercury and 

then sells or stores the mercury for later 

sale, that person is considered to be a 

manufacturer of mercury and must 

report to the proposed rule for the 

amount of elemental mercury it sells or 

stores. If any manufacturer covered by 

the proposed rule decides at any time to 

manage the elemental mercury as a 

waste, that mercury is subject to the 

RCRA, but not to the proposed rule. 

Elemental mercury that is stored under 

MEBA or converted to a mercury 

compound and disposed of remains a 

waste, that is, its status cannot change 

from waste to commodity mercury. 

2. Reporting Threshold. As discussed 

in Unit III.C., the Agency compared 

existing state and federal reporting 

databases applicable to the supply, use, 

and trade of mercury. EPA conducted 

this review in an attempt not only to 

eliminate duplicative reporting 


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requirements, but also to incorporate 

applicable features of such programs, 

including the consideration of 

respective reporting thresholds. 

The statutory text at TSCA section 

8(b)(10) is silent on a reporting 

threshold; however, TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(C) directs the Agency to 

‘‘identify any manufacturing processes 

or products that intentionally add 

mercury’’ (15 U.S.C. 2607(10)(b)(C)). 

The Agency interprets the direction to 

‘‘identify any’’ to apply to any amount 

of mercury in a manufacturing process 

or product. When considered in light of 

the statutory text at TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(C), as well as concerns related 

to the potential adverse effects on 

human health and the environment 

resulting from releases of mercury, the 

Agency finds that it would be 

inappropriate to propose a threshold 

under which reporting would not be 

required. Therefore, EPA proposes to 

apply the proposed reporting 

requirements to any person who 

manufactures (including imports) 

mercury, mercury-added products or 

otherwise intentionally uses mercury in 

a manufacturing process regardless of 

the amount of mercury at issue. EPA 

seeks comment on this approach. 

The absence of a reporting threshold 

is consistent with IMERC reporting 

requirements, which apply to the 

intentional addition of mercury to a 

product, including where ‘‘mercury is 

intentionally added for any reason or 

that incorporates a component to which 

mercury was intentionally added’’ (Ref. 

14). Because of the similarities in the 

intentional addition of mercury to 

manufacture a product and otherwise 

intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process, EPA determined 

that all quantities of mercury used in 

both activities should be reported 

without a reporting threshold. EPA 

seeks comment on this approach. 

By comparison, the CDR rule contains 

reporting thresholds for chemical 

substances, including elemental 

mercury and mercury compounds. EPA 

interprets the mandate in TSCA section 

8(b)(10)(B) to call for a comprehensive 

inventory such that existing data gaps 

would be eliminated, where feasible. 

The Agency also seeks as much as 

possible to complement amounts of 

quantitative mercury data already 

collected by, but without overlapping 

with, reporting requirements of the CDR 

rule. In general, the Agency seeks to 

require reporting for persons who 

manufacture (including import) mercury 

in quantities less than the CDR 

thresholds for elemental mercury (2,500 

lbs.) and mercury compounds (25,000 

lbs.). The coordination between 

additional, proposed reporting 

requirements and the CDR rule are 

discussed in ‘‘Persons Who Manufacture 

(Including Import) Mercury.’’ 

3. Persons Who Manufacture 

(Including Import) Mercury. As 

described in Unit III.B., manufacture 

and import for the purpose of the 

proposed rule would include the 

manufacture (including import) of 

mercury. Although not exhaustive, 

persons who engage in the following 

activities would be required to report 

under the proposed rule (see Table 3. 

Information to Report—Mercury): 

• Mining (including extraction and 

beneficiation processes) mercury; 

• Generating or isolating mercury 

during ore, petroleum, or natural gas 

refining; 

• Retorting, recovering, or recycling 

(including purifying) mercury from 

waste streams; 

• Chemical manufacturing of 

mercury; 

• Importing mercury; or 

• Capturing mercury using methods 

to reduce emissions of hazardous air 

pollutants, unless the captured mercury 

is generated, handled, or managed as a 

waste or is identified as an impurity. 

As described in Unit III.C., the 

Agency is seeking to decrease the 

burden of reporting to the greatest 

extent practicable by, among other 

things, complementing without 

overlapping existing reporting 

requirements related to mercury and 

mercury-added products. As such, EPA 

proposes that persons who manufacture 

(including import) for commercial 

purposes in excess of 2,500 lbs. for 

elemental mercury or in excess of 

25,000 lbs. for mercury compounds for 

a specific reporting year would not be 

required to report amounts 

manufactured (including imported) or 

exported that are already reported per 

the CDR rule. Such persons would, 

however, be required to provide 

quantitative data on storage and 

distribution in commerce, as well as 

qualitative and contextual information 

related to all applicable data elements 

under the proposed rule. In further 

efforts to decrease reporting burdens, 

the Agency intends to provide preselected lists of mercury compounds to 

streamline reporting requirements as 

much as possible. 

TABLE 3—INFORMATION TO REPORT—MERCURY

Persons who must report Potential reporting requirements 

Persons who manufacture (including import) mercury in amounts greater than or equal to 2,500 lbs. for elemental mercury or greater than 

or equal to 25,000 lbs. for mercury compounds for a specific reporting year (i.e., current CDR reporters).

—Country(ies) of origin for imported mercury. 

—Country(ies) of destination for exported mercury. 

—Amount of mercury stored (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury distributed in commerce (lbs.). 

—NAICS code(s) for mercury distributed in commerce. 

—As applicable, specific mercury compound(s) from pre-selected list. 

All other persons who manufacture (including import) mercury .............. —Amount of mercury manufactured (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury imported (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of origin for imported mercury. 

—Amount of mercury exported (lbs.), except mercury prohibited from 

export at 15 U.S.C. 2611(c)(1) and (7). 

—Country(ies) of destination for exported mercury. 

—Amount of mercury stored (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury distributed in commerce (lbs.). 

—NAICS code(s) for mercury distributed in commerce. 

—As applicable, specific mercury compound(s) from pre-selected list. 

4. Persons Who Manufacture or 

Import Mercury-added Products. As 

described in Unit III.B., EPA is 

proposing to require reporting for 

manufacture (including import) 

mercury-added products, except import 

of a product that contains mercury 

solely as a component that is a mercuryadded product. The Agency proposes 

that a person who imports a product 

that contains a component that is a 

mercury-added product (e.g., toy or 


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novelty item containing a mercuryadded battery) would not be required to 

report under the proposed rule. EPA 

determined that this distinction was 

appropriate after reviewing the data 

reported to the IMERC Mercury-Added 

Products Database and comparing the 

companies that reported national sales 

data for individual mercury-added 

products (including components), as 

well as items that would be considered 

to contain a component that is a 

mercury-added product (Ref. 15). For 

example, companies that report to 

IMERC for sales of appliances and 

vehicles list lamps as a mercury-added 

component. The Agency is interested in 

collecting data on original 

manufacturers (including importers) 

and users of mercury and believes that 

requiring certain contextual data (e.g., 

NAICS codes) would sufficiently 

describe the use of mercury-added 

components by companies who do not 

first manufacture, import, or otherwise 

intentionally use mercury. Based on its 

review of the companies who report to 

IMERC and the types of mercury-added 

products reported, the Agency is 

concerned that requiring reporting for 

products where mercury is present 

solely within a previously manufactured 

component poses risks of doublecounting and thereby could negatively 

affect the reliability of future mercury 

inventory updates. 

EPA also is concerned that requiring 

reporting for a product that contains a 

mercury-added component could create 

undue burden for certain importers. For 

example, the Agency concluded that it 

is more likely that an importer of 

batteries would know if the specific 

kind of battery contained mercury, as 

opposed to an importer of toys that may 

or may not contain a mercury-added 

battery. However, EPA requests 

comment on whether persons who 

manufacture (including import) items 

that contain components that are 

mercury-added products should also 

report under the proposed rule. 

In addition, the Agency is aware of 

transactions where a consumer directly 

orders mercury-added drugs (e.g., 

hemorrhoid ointments, lotions, contactlens solutions, and nasal sprays) and 

medical devices (e.g., thermometers and 

blood pressure devices) from foreign 

vendors. These parcels typically enter 

the United States via international mail 

and are processed at international mail 

facilities by the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection, or the 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The addressee on the parcel is 

considered to be the importer of record. 

If an express courier is used, the express 

courier may assume the role of the 

importer of record. In the case where an 

individual consumer is purchasing and 

importing a mercury-added product for 

personal use, the Agency believes that 

the proposed rule does not apply to 

such persons. Furthermore, the 

proposed rule would not apply to 

persons engaged in the delivery of such 

mercury-added products to an 

individual consumer, even if the 

delivery service constitutes import and 

distribution in commerce. In both 

scenarios, the persons who are 

importing the mercury-added product 

are not doing so ‘‘with the purpose of 

obtaining an immediate or eventual 

commercial advantage for the importer.’’ 

However, if a delivery service 

intentionally specialized in part or 

whole in the import and distribution in 

commerce of mercury-added products, 

then that person (or company) would be 

required to report to the mercury 

inventory. 

Although not exhaustive, persons 

who engage in the following activities 

would be required to report under the 

proposed rule (see Table 4. Information 

to Report—Mercury-Added Products): 

• Importing mercury-added products 

(except the import of a product that 

contains a component that is a mercuryadded product); or 

• Producing mercury-added products 

(e.g., inserting mercury into a switch or 

battery, or mixing a mercury compound 

with other substances to formulate a 

topical antiseptic). 

Examples of persons who would not 

be required to report to this proposed 

rule include: 

• Manufacturers of concrete made 

from coal ash that contains mercury, but 

where such mercury originated from 

coal burned as a fuel source (i.e., 

mercury was not intentionally added to 

the coal ash or the concrete); 

• Fuel blenders who combine 

materials that might contain mercury, 

but are not chosen for blending because 

they contain mercury; 

• Consumers who purchase and 

import mercury-added products for 

personal use from a foreign vendor; or, 

• Persons engaged in the delivery of 

mercury-added products to an 

individual consumer, unless the 

delivery service intentionally 

specializes in part or whole in the 

import and distribution in commerce of 

mercury-added products. 

For mercury-added products, the 

Agency seeks not only to balance efforts 

to increase the efficacy of reporting 

while decreasing the burden to the 

greatest extent practicable, but also to 

fully describe applicable sectors of the 

mercury market. As described in Unit 

III.C., persons who report to IMERC 

identify the amount of mercury sold in 

mercury-added products that may be 

manufactured, distributed, or imported. 

The Agency considers the amount of 

mercury reported to IMERC as sold to be 

comparable to the amount of mercury to 

be reported under the proposed rule as 

distributed in commerce. As such, EPA 

proposes that persons reporting to 

IMERC would not need to report 

amounts of mercury distributed in 

commerce under the proposed rule. 

However, those persons would need to 

report quantitative and qualitative 

information for other applicable data 

elements. Under the proposed rule, such 

persons also would be required to report 

contextual information applicable to 

amounts, if any, of mercury 

manufactured, imported, distributed in 

commerce, or exported. In further efforts 

to decrease reporting burdens, the 

Agency intends to provide pre-selected 

lists of mercury-added product 

categories to streamline reporting 

requirements as much as possible. 

TABLE 4—INFORMATION TO REPORT—MERCURY-ADDED PRODUCTS

Persons who must report Potential reporting requirements 

Persons who manufacture (including import) mercury-added products, 

except a product that contains a component that is a mercury-added 

product, who currently report to IMERC.

—Amount of mercury in manufactured products (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury in imported products (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of origin for imported products. 

—Amount of mercury in exported products (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of destination for exported products. 

—NAICS code(s) for products distributed in commerce. 

—As applicable, specific product category(ies) and subcategory(ies) 

from pre-selected list. 


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TABLE 4—INFORMATION TO REPORT—MERCURY-ADDED PRODUCTS—Continued 

Persons who must report Potential reporting requirements 

All other persons who manufacture (including import) mercury-added 

products, except a product that contains a component that is a mercury-added product.

—Amount of mercury in manufactured products (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury in imported products (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of origin for imported products. 

—Amount of mercury in exported products (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of destination for exported products. 

—Amount of mercury in products distributed in commerce (lbs.). 

—NAICS code(s) for products distributed in commerce. 

—As applicable, specific product category(ies) and subcategory(ies) 

from pre-selected list. 

5. Persons Who Otherwise 

Intentionally Use Mercury in a 

Manufacturing Process. As described in 

Unit III.B., TSCA section 8(b)(10)(d)(i) 

includes persons who intentionally use 

mercury in a manufacturing process 

amongst those who must report. 

Examples of persons who otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process that would be 

required to report under the proposed 

rule include, but are not limited to (see 

Table 5. Information to Report— 

Otherwise Intentional Use of Mercury in 

a Manufacturing Process): 

• Producers of chlorine (e.g., 

mercury-cell chlor-alkali process); 

• Producers of polyurethane 

elastomer; or 

• Producers of other commercial 

chemicals (except mercury compounds). 

Unlike manufacturers (including 

importers) of mercury and mercuryadded products, the Agency believes 

that persons who otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process may currently 

report to existing data collection 

programs in the United States; however, 

the reporting requirements for those 

programs cover only some of the data 

elements that would be required of EPA 

for the mercury inventory. As such, the 

general, specific, and contextual 

reporting requirements proposed by 

EPA are intended to provide a complete 

picture of uses for which little 

information is currently available. In 

further efforts to decrease reporting 

burdens, the Agency intends to provide 

pre-selected lists of manufacturing 

processes and attendant uses of mercury 

to streamline reporting requirements as 

much as possible. 

TABLE 5—INFORMATION TO REPORT—OTHERWISE INTENTIONAL USE OF MERCURY IN A MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Persons who must report Potential reporting requirements 

Persons who otherwise intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing 

process, other than the manufacture of a mercury compound or a 

mercury-added product.

—Amount of mercury intentionally used (lbs.) in pre-selected list of 

manufacturing processes. 

—Amount of mercury stored (lbs.). 

—Amount of mercury in exported final product(s) (lbs.). 

—Country(ies) of destination for exported final product(s). 

—Amount of mercury in final product(s) distributed in commerce (lbs.). 

—NAICS code(s) for mercury in final product(s) distributed in commerce. 

—As applicable, specific manufacturing process from pre-selected list. 

—As applicable, specific use of mercury in manufacturing process from 

pre-selected list. 

To the extent that the proposed 

persons who must report and 

descriptions and examples of the kinds 

of information to be reported can be 

clarified, the Agency welcomes 

comment on the aforementioned 

discussion and tables. In addition, the 

Agency requests comment on whether 

other persons should be required to 

report or, in the alternative, if any of the 

proposed persons should not report. 

6. Consideration of Small Entities. 

Based on EPA’s economic assessment of 

the proposed rule (Ref. 3), 

approximately 40 percent of the 

respondents will be small entities. 

However, small businesses are not 

exempt from reporting requirements 

because, unlike the exemption for small 

manufacturers and processors provided 

under TSCA 8(a)(1)(A) and (B), 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements associated with TSCA 

section 8(b) are applicable to all affected 

entities. EPA is striving to minimize the 

burden on all respondents, including 

small entities, as much as possible by 

developing the reporting application 

and database to be user-friendly and 

dynamic, consisting of straightforward 

questions that are to include fill-in-theblank (numbers) fields, check boxes, 

and drop down menus. 

In addition, the Agency is considering 

the development of compliance guides 

tailored to small entities that will be 

required to comply with the reporting 

requirements. EPA requests public 

comment on what kinds of information 

would be particularly important to 

address for small entities in such 

compliance guides. EPA expects to 

conduct outreach and webinars for 

small businesses to introduce the 

reporting database, explain 

requirements, and offer Q&A and other 

support. Under TSCA section 26(d), 

EPA also provides specialized 

assistance to respondents, particularly 

to small entities, including technical 

and other non-financial assistance to 

manufacturers and processors of 

chemical substances. EPA’s TSCA 

Hotline assists small businesses 

complying with TSCA rules and 

provides various materials such as 

copies of Federal Register notices, 

advisories, and other information upon 

request. Contact information for the 

TSCA Hotline is listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

E. Reporting Requirements 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(B) sets the 

general scope of the inventory as the 

‘‘mercury supply, use, and trade in the 


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United States’’ (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(B)). EPA interprets the core 

elements to be covered in the mercury 

inventory to be the amount of mercury 

used in the activities within the 

mercury market described in Unit III.B. 

(i.e., manufacture, import, export, 

storage, distribution in commerce, and 

otherwise intentional use of mercury in 

a manufacturing process). EPA also 

determined that, for certain elements, 

requiring reporting of more specific 

information would help to better 

contextualize reported quantities of 

mercury used in domestic and, where 

appropriate, global supply, use, and 

trade. The proposed general, specific, 

and contextual reporting requirements 

are described in this section. 

1. General Reporting Requirements. 

EPA considers ‘‘supply’’ to include 

manufacture and storage, ‘‘use’’ to 

include otherwise intentional use of 

mercury in a manufacturing process, 

and ‘‘trade’’ to include import, export, 

and distribution in commerce. The 

Agency is proposing that accounting for 

such activities is necessary to fulfill 

statutory mandates at TSCA sections 

8(b)(10)(B) and (C). Therefore, for 

persons required to report (as described 

in Unit III.D.), EPA proposes reporting 

quantitative data for mercury, mercuryadded products, and otherwise 

intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process (as qualified 

from existing terms as discussed in Unit 

III.B.) as follows: 

a. Importers of mercury: Amount of 

mercury imported per year (lbs.); 

Amount of mercury stored per year 

(lbs.); Amount of mercury distributed in 

commerce per year (lbs.); Amount of 

mercury exported per year (lbs.). 

b. Manufacturers (other than 

importers) of mercury: Amount of 

mercury manufactured (other than 

imported) per year (lbs.); Amount of 

mercury stored per year (lbs.); Amount 

of mercury distributed in commerce per 

year (lbs.). 

c. Importers of any mercury-added 

product other than a product that 

contains a component that is a mercuryadded product (NOTE—see Unit III.D.): 

Amount of mercury in imported 

products per year (lbs.); Amount of 

mercury in products distributed in 

domestic commerce per year (lbs.); 

Amount of mercury in exported 

products per year (lbs.). 

d. Manufacturers (other than 

importers) of any mercury-added 

product other than a product that 

contains a component that is a mercuryadded product (NOTE—see Unit III.D.): 

Amount of mercury in manufactured 

(other than imported) products per year 

(lbs.); Amount of mercury in products 

distributed in commerce per year (lbs.); 

Amount of mercury in exported 

products per year (lbs.). 

e. Persons who intentionally use 

mercury in manufacturing processes, 

other than the manufacture of a 

mercury compound or a mercury-added 

product: Amount of mercury used in a 

manufacturing process per year (lbs.); 

Amount of mercury stored per year 

(lbs.); Amount of mercury distributed in 

commerce in final product(s) of 

manufacturing process per year (lbs.); 

Amount of mercury exported in final 

product(s) of manufacturing process per 

year (lbs.). 

EPA understands that certain persons 

may report for multiple activities 

associated with supply, use, and trade 

of mercury. For example, a person may 

import mercury and manufacture 

mercury-added products. As such, the 

Agency attempted to design the 

proposed quantitative data elements for 

reporting requirements such that a 

person could report both as an 

‘‘importer of mercury’’ and 

‘‘manufacturer of mercury-added 

products,’’ but only report for the 

specific activity in which they engage. 

The Agency expects there may be 

certain persons engaged in the supply, 

use, and trade of mercury who might 

not be accounted for in the inventory, 

but EPA views this omission of 

prospective reporters as an opportunity 

to limit undue burden and avoid 

double-counting. Thus, the Agency is 

proposing to limit the persons who must 

report at TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D)(i) to 

only those persons described in Unit 

III.D. However, EPA requests comment 

on whether the proposed reporting 

requirements should apply to persons 

who do not manufacture or import 

mercury or mercury-added products, or 

otherwise intentionally use mercury in 

a manufacturing process, but engage in 

the supply, use, and trade of mercury in 

the United States. 

2. Specific Reporting Requirements. 

To better understand the categories of 

mercury-added products and otherwise 

intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process, the Agency also 

proposes to require reporters to identify 

the specific categories and subcategories 

of products and functional uses for 

which quantitative data is reported. The 

Agency believes this is an appropriate 

interpretation of the direction to 

‘‘identify any manufacturing processes 

or products that intentionally add 

mercury,’’ which, in turn, could inform 

how to ‘‘recommend actions, including 

proposed revisions of Federal law or 

regulations, to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use’’ (15 U.S.C. 

2607(b)(10)(C)). Persons required to 

report would provide the total amount 

of mercury used during the reporting 

year in pounds for general reporting 

activities associated with supply, use, 

and trade, rather than per category and 

subcategory. EPA based this decision on 

issues concerning burden and 

confidential business information that 

could be created by reporting 

quantitative information for increasingly 

specific categories and subcategories. 

Nonetheless, EPA requests comment on 

whether quantitative information 

should be required for such specific 

reporting categories and subcategories, 

as well as on the reporting categories 

and subcategories. 

a. Mercury-added products. Based on 

the current knowledge of mercuryadded products available in the 

marketplace, including skin products 

manufactured abroad and sold illegally 

in the United States (Ref. 16), EPA 

proposes the following list of categories 

and subcategories of mercury-added 

products: 

• Batteries: Button cell, silver; Button 

cell, zinc-air; Button cell, alkaline; 

Stacked button cell batteries; Manganese 

oxide; Silver oxide; Mercuric oxide, 

non-button cell; Button cell, mercuric 

oxide; Button cell, zinc carbon; Other 

(specify). 

• Dental amalgam. 

• Formulated products (includes uses 

in cosmetics, pesticides, and laboratory 

chemicals): Skin-lightening creams; 

Lotions; Soaps and sanitizers; Topical 

antiseptics; Bath oils and salts; 

Preservatives (e.g., for use in vaccines 

and eye-area cosmetics when no 

preservative alternatives are available); 

Pharmaceuticals (including prescription 

and over-the-counter drug products); 

Cleaning products (not registered as 

pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, 

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act); 

Pesticides; Paints; Dyes; Reagents (e.g., 

catalysts, buffers, fixatives); Other 

(specify). 

• Lighting, lamps, bulbs: Linear 

fluorescent; Compact fluorescent; Utube and circular fluorescent; Cold 

cathode fluorescent; External electrode 

fluorescent; Mercury vapor; Metal 

halide; High pressure sodium; Mercury 

short arc; Neon; Other (specify). 

• Measuring instruments: Barometer; 

Fever thermometer; Flow meter; 

Hydrometer; Hygrometer/psychrometer; 

Manometer; Non-fever thermometer; 

Pyrometer; Sphygmomanometer; Other 

(specify). 

• Pump seals. 

• Switches, relays, sensors, valves: 

Tilt switch; Vibration switch; Float 

switch; Pressure switch; Temperature 

switch; Displacement relay; Wetted reed 


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relay; Contact relay; Flame sensor; 

Thermostat; Other (specify). 

• Miscellaneous mercury-added 

products: Wheel weights; Wheel 

rotation balancers/stabilizers; Firearm 

recoil suppressors; Carburetor 

synchronizers; Joint support/shock 

absorption bands; Other (specify). 

b. Intentional mercury use in 

manufacturing processes. Based on the 

current knowledge of manufacturing 

processes involving the otherwise 

intentional use of mercury, EPA 

proposes the following manufacturing 

processes for which mercury may be 

intentionally used: Chlorine production 

(e.g., mercury-cell chlor-alkali process); 

Acetaldehyde production; Vinyl 

chloride monomer production; Sodium/ 

potassium methylate/ethylate 

production; Polyurethane/plastic 

production; Other (specify). 

EPA proposes the following list of 

uses of mercury in the aforementioned 

manufacturing processes: Catalyst; 

Reactant; Reagent; Other (specify). 

3. Contextual Reporting 

Requirements. Within certain sectors of 

the mercury market, the Agency 

determined that additional data 

requirements are important to provide 

context to the quantitative data 

reported. While the individual 

quantities and overarching, categorical 

sums can help to fulfill the statutory 

mandate to identify manufacturing 

processes or products that intentionally 

add mercury, EPA seeks to collect 

information to more thoroughly describe 

such activities and enhance efforts to 

recommend actions to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use, as mandated 

in TSCA section 8(b)(10)(C). Examples 

of such data requirements include 

descriptions of countries of origin or 

destination for reported import and 

export quantities, as well as NAICS 

codes for purchasing or receiving 

industries for mercury or mercuryadded products distributed in 

commerce. In order to fully understand 

the supply, use, and trade or mercury in 

the United States, EPA proposes the 

following reporting requirements: 

a. For imports of mercury or mercuryadded products: Country of origin. 

b. For mercury or mercury-added 

products distributed in commerce: 

Identify the applicable purchasing or 

receiving industry sectors via NAICS 

codes. 

c. For exported mercury or mercuryadded products: Destination country. 

The Agency determined that the 

combination of general, specific, and 

contextual reporting requirements 

provides for the body of information 

required to fulfill statutory mandates of 

TSCA sections 8(b)(10)(B) and (C). As 

much as possible, the Agency would 

design all requirements to be answered 

only where a reporter engages in the 

specific activity from the inclusive list 

of options. In fact, EPA believes that it 

is unlikely that the typical reporter 

would be engaged in and, as a result, be 

required to answer all, or even many, of 

the proposed reporting requirements. 

Nonetheless, to the extent that the 

proposed reporting process can be 

streamlined, the Agency welcomes 

comment on the proposed general, 

specific, and contextual reporting 

requirements. In addition, the Agency 

requests comment on whether such 

reporting requirements should be added 

or eliminated. 

F. Frequency of Inventory Publication 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(B) sets the date 

for publication of initial and 

subsequent, triennial iterations of the 

mercury inventory to commence on 

April 1, 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8(b)(10)(B)). 

Therefore, EPA expects to publish the 

first mercury inventory supported by 

the proposed reporting requirements by 

April 1, 2020 and every three years 

thereafter. 

G. Frequency of Data Collection and 

Reporting Deadline 

TSCA section 8(b)(10)(D) provides the 

authority to promulgate the rule being 

proposed here to assist in the 

preparation of the triennial inventory 

publication (15 U.S.C. 8(b)(10)(D)), but 

TSCA offers no guidance on the 

frequency of collection or reporting 

deadline. To attempt to minimize 

reporting obligations, the Agency 

compared the respective collection 

frequencies and reporting deadlines for 

IMERC, the CDR rule, and the TRI 

program to when EPA is required to 

publish the mercury inventory. TSCA 

section 8(b)(10)(B), (15 U.S.C. 

8(b)(10)(B)), sets a publication date for 

the mercury inventory that falls on the 

reporting deadline for IMERC: April 1 in 

a triennial cycle starting in April 2017. 

Data collected under the CDR rule is 

submitted to the Agency on a 

quadrennial cycle; the next reporting 

cycle will occur in 2020, with a 

reporting deadline of September 2020. 

The TRI program collects and publishes 

data on an annual cycle with a reporting 

deadline of July 1 of each year. 

EPA recognizes that the mercury 

inventory reporting deadline would 

need to allow for an appropriate amount 

of time for quality control and assurance 

to be performed by EPA staff before the 

inventory is published. As such, the 

Agency concluded that the proposed 

reporting deadline would need to occur 

at least several months in advance of the 

publication deadline (April 1). The 

Agency then considered whether it was 

feasible to select a date and reporting 

frequency that would coincide with the 

IMERC, CDR rule, and TRI program 

reporting deadlines, so as not to impose 

an additional date for those that might 

be required to report to multiple 

systems. Due to the incongruities of 

frequency of collection among the 

proposed rule (triennial cycle— 

publication date of April 1), IMERC 

(triennial cycle—reporting deadline of 

April 1), the CDR rule (quadrennial 

cycle—reporting deadline of September 

30), and TRI program (annual cycle— 

reporting deadline of July 1), the Agency 

determined that attempting to 

coordinate with each program would be 

more confusing for reporters, would not 

allow for ample time to review and 

coordinate similar data (e.g., 

mismatched dates for reporting deadline 

and inventory publication between CDR 

rule and the proposed rule), and could 

result in gaps of up to several years 

between the availability of most 

applicable information (e.g., principal 

reporting year data for the CDR rule). 

Based on such considerations, the 

Agency determined that coinciding with 

the triennial IMERC frequency of 

collection is appropriate given the 

mercury inventory publication schedule 

is also triennial. In addition, the Agency 

is proposing to set the mercury 

inventory reporting deadline to coincide 

with the TRI program deadline in an 

effort to align with a date with which 

certain, potential reporters might 

already be familiar. Therefore, EPA 

proposes to establish a July 1st reporting 

deadline for 2019 and every three years 

thereafter. Data submitted should cover 

only the calendar year preceding the 

year in which the reporting deadline 

occurs (e.g., data for calendar year 

January 1 to December 31, 2018 reported 

on or before July 1, 2019). The Agency 

notes that IMERC ‘‘Product 

Notification’’ requirements are intended 

to inform consumers, recyclers, policy 

makers, and others about the total 

amount of mercury in the specific 

products that were sold in the United 

States in a given year. EPA seeks 

comment on the proposed timelines and 

reporting deadlines proposed. 

EPA notes that there would be some 

discrepancies between the proposed 

rule and IMERC deadlines (e.g., the 

Agency’s inventory publishing deadline 

is the same day as IMERC reporting 

deadline). However, the Agency would 

look to statutory provisions calling for 

coordination with IMERC to reconcile 

such concerns. In addition, the Agency’s 

intent to avoid duplicative reporting of 

quantitative data could result in reliance 


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on information reported to other data 

collection systems in differing reporting 

years (i.e., current reporters to IMERC 

and the CDR rule). For the reasons 

described above, EPA believes the 

proposed reporting parameters would 

provide for the most convenience and 

least burden to potential reporters and 

the Agency. Nonetheless, EPA requests 

comment on the proposed frequency of 

data collection, reporting deadline, and 

timeline. 

H. Recordkeeping 

Consistent with the proposed 

triennial reporting and publication cycle 

for the mercury inventory, EPA 

proposes that each person who is 

subject to the reporting requirements 

must retain records that document any 

information reported to EPA. Records 

relevant to reporting during a 

submission period must be retained for 

a period of 3 years beginning on the last 

day of the submission period. 

Submitters are encouraged to retain 

their records longer than 3 years to 

ensure that past records are available as 

a reference when new submissions are 

being generated. 

I. Reporting Requirements and 

Confidential Business Information 

Reporters to the information 

collection of the proposed rule may 

claim that their submitted information 

is CBI. The statutory provisions for CBI 

under TSCA are at Section 14 of the law 

(15 U.S.C. 2613). 

J. Electronic Reporting 

EPA is proposing to require electronic 

reporting of the mercury inventory data, 

using an Agency-provided, web-based 

reporting software to submit mercury 

inventory reports through the Internet to 

EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). 

CDX provides the capability for 

submitters to access their data through 

the use of web services. For more 

information about CDX, go to http://

epa.gov/cdx. 

Should EPA adopt a mandatory 

electronic reporting requirement, 

submitters would be required to register 

with EPA’s CDX, complete an electronic 

signature agreement, and to prepare a 

data file for submission. To submit 

electronically to EPA via CDX, 

individuals must first register with that 

system at http://cdx.epa.gov/epa_

home.asp. To register in CDX, the CDX 

registrant agrees to the Terms and 

Conditions, provides information about 

the submitter and organization, selects a 

user name and password, and follows 

the procedures outlined in the guidance 

document for CDX available at https:// 

cdx.epa.gov/TSCA/eTSCA-Registration

Guide.pdf. The registrant would also 

select a role and complete an electronic 

signature agreement either through 

electronic validation using the 

LexisNexis services or through wet ink 

signature. Once registration and the 

electronic signature agreement are 

complete, the user would prepare a 

submission. EPA is proposing 

mandatory electronic reporting because 

such a requirement would streamline 

the reporting process and reduce the 

administrative costs associated with 

information submission and 

recordkeeping. The effort to eliminate 

paper-based submissions in favor of 

CDX reporting is part of broader 

government efforts to move to modern, 

electronic methods of information 

gathering. Electronic reporting allows 

for more efficient data transmittal and a 

reduction in errors with the built-in 

validation procedures. EPA determined 

the adoption of electronic reporting 

reduces the reporting burden for 

submitters by reducing the cost and 

time required to review. Nonetheless, 

the Agency requests comment on its 

proposal to require mandatory 

electronic reporting. 

IV. Request for Comment 

In addition to the areas where EPA 

has specifically requested comment, 

EPA requests comment on all other 

aspects of this proposed rule. 

V. References 

The following is a listing of the 

documents that are specifically 

referenced in this document. The docket 

includes these documents and other 

information considered by EPA, 

including documents that are referenced 

within the documents that are included 

in the docket, even if the referenced 

document is not physically located in 

the docket. For assistance in locating 

these other documents, please consult 

the technical person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

1. EPA. Mercury; Initial Inventory Report of 

Supply, Use, and Trade. (82 FR. 15522; 

March 29, 2017). 

2. UNEP. Minamata Convention on Mercury. 

(No date). Available at http://

www.mercuryconvention.org. [Accessed 

August 4, 2017]. 

3. EPA. Economic Analysis for the Proposed 

Reporting Requirements for the TSCA 

Mercury Inventory. August 2, 2017. 

4. EPA. TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. 

(No date). Available at https://

www.epa.gov/tsca-inventory. [Accessed 

August 4, 2017]. 

5. AMAP/UNEP. Technical Background 

Report for the Global Mercury 

Assessment 2013. 2013. Arctic 

Monitoring and Assessment Programme, 

Oslo, Norway/UNEP Chemicals Branch, 

Geneva, Switzerland. vi + 263 pp. 

Available at http://apps.unep.org/piwik/ 

download.php?file=/publications/ 

pmtdocuments/-Technical%20

background%20report%20for

%20the%20global%20mercury%20

assessment%20-2013TechBackRep

GMA2013.pdf. 

6. EPA. Basic Information about Mercury. 

(No date). Available at https://

www.epa.gov/mercury/basicinformation-about-mercury. [Accessed 

August 4, 2017]. 

7. EPA. Health Effects of Exposures to 

Mercury. (No date). Available at https:// 

www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effectsexposures-mercury. [Accessed August 4, 

2017]. 

8. EPA. EPA’s Roadmap for Mercury, EPA– 

747R–06–001. July 2006. Available at 

http://www.epa.gov/hg/roadmap.htm. 

9. EPA. Subpoena and Information Request. 

March 20, 2015. Available at https://

www.epa.gov/mercury/2015-subpoenaand-information-request-epa-mercuryrecyclers. 

10. EPA. Chemical Data Reporting under the 

Toxic Substances Control Act. (No date). 

Available at https://www.epa.gov/ 

chemical-data-reporting. [Accessed 

August 4, 2017]. 

11. EPA. Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 

Program. (No date). Available at https:// 

www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventorytri-program. [Accessed August 4, 2017]. 

12. EPA. TSCA Chemical Data Reporting Fact 

Sheet: Articles. 2012. Available at 

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/ 

files/documents/articlesfactsheetforcdr_

reporting_080312.pdf. 

13. USITC. Guide to Foreign Trade 

Statistics—Description of the Foreign 

Trade Statistical Program. (No date). 

Available at https://www.census.gov/ 

foreign-trade/guide/sec2.html. [Accessed 

August 4, 2017]. 

14. NEWMOA. Instructions—Mercury-added 

Product Notification Form, Version for 

Use by a Single Manufacturer, 

Distributor/Wholesaler, or Importer. 

August 2011. Available at 

www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/ 

imerc/InstructionsMultiple.doc. 

15. NEWMOA. Mercury-Added Products 

Database. (No date). Available at http:// 

www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/ 

imerc/notification/. [Accessed August 4, 

2017]. 

16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

Mercury Poisoning Linked to Skin 

Products. (July 26, 2016). Available at 

https://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/ 

consumerupdates/ucm294849.htm. 

[Accessed October 3, 2017]. 

17. EPA. Collection of Information for 

Mercury Inventory Reporting Rule; EPA 

ICR No. 2567.01; OMB Control No.: 

2070–NEW. [Month DD], 2017. 


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VI. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is a significant regulatory 

action that was submitted to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review under Executive Orders 12866 

(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 

13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011). 

Any changes made in response to OMB 

recommendations have been 

documented in the docket for this 

action. 

B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing 

Regulations and Controlling Regulatory 

Costs 

This action is expected to be subject 

to the requirements for regulatory 

actions specified in Executive Order 

13771 (82 FR 9339, February 3, 2017). 

EPA prepared an analysis of the 

estimated costs and benefits associated 

with this action. This analysis, 

‘‘Economic Analysis for the Proposed 

Reporting Requirements for the TSCA 

Mercury Inventory’’ (Economic 

Analysis, Ref. 3) is available in the 

docket and is summarized in Unit I.E. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The information collection activities 

in this proposed rule have been 

submitted for approval to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. The 

Information Collection Request (ICR) 

document that the EPA prepared has 

been assigned EPA ICR number 2567.01 

(Ref. 17). You can find a copy of the ICR 

in the docket for this rule, and it is 

briefly summarized here. 

The reporting requirements identified 

in the proposed rule would provide EPA 

with information necessary to prepare 

and periodically update an inventory of 

mercury supply, use, and trade in the 

United States, as required by TSCA 

section 8(b)(10)(D). These proposed 

reporting requirements would help the 

Agency to prepare subsequent, triennial 

publications of the inventory, as well as 

to carry out the requirement of TSCA 

section 8(b)(10)(C) to identify any 

manufacturing processes or products 

that intentionally add mercury and 

recommend actions, including proposed 

revisions of Federal law or regulations, 

to achieve further reductions in mercury 

use. EPA intends to use information 

collected under the rule to assist in 

efforts to reduce the use of mercury in 

products and processes and to facilitate 

reporting on implementation of the 

Minamata Convention by the United 

States. Respondents may claim some of 

the information reported to EPA under 

the proposed rule as CBI under TSCA 

section 14. TSCA section 14(c) requires 

a supporting statement and certification 

for confidentiality claims asserted after 

June 22, 2016. 

EPA estimated total burden and costs 

to industry associated with the 

proposed rule over the first three years 

of its promulgation (Ref. 3). For the 750 

companies anticipated to be subject to 

the proposed reporting requirements, 

the average per respondent burden 

hours for Year 1 (of a triennial cycle for 

submitting information) was estimated 

to be 98.94 hours (Ref. 3). Years 2 and 

3 are not data collection years, so there 

is no cost associated with the proposed 

rule during these years (Ref. 3). 

Therefore, the average for total burden 

hours per the three-year reporting cycle 

is 32.94 hours per year (Ref. 3). 

Respondents/affected entities: 

Manufacturers, importers, and 

processors of mercury. 

Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Mandatory (15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(D)). 

Estimated number of respondents: 

750. 

Frequency of response: Triennially. 

Total estimated annual burden: 

24,734 hours (averaged over 3 years). 

Burden is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). 

Total estimated annual cost: 

$1,985,446 (averaged over 3 years), 

includes $0 annualized capital or 

operation and maintenance costs. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for the EPA’s regulations in 40 

CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. 

Submit your comments on the 

Agency’s need for this information, the 

accuracy of the provided burden 

estimates and any suggested methods 

for minimizing respondent burden to 

the EPA using the docket identified at 

the beginning of this rule. You may also 

send your ICR-related comments to 

OMB’s Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs via email to oira_

submissions@omb.eop.gov, Attention: 

Desk Officer for the EPA. Since OMB is 

required to make a decision concerning 

the ICR between 30 and 60 days after 

receipt, OMB must receive comments no 

later than November 27, 2017. The EPA 

will respond to any ICR-related 

comments in the final rule. 

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the RFA, 

5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., I certify that this 

action will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities under the RFA. 

The small entities subject to the 

requirements of this action include 

those that manufactures, including 

imports, mercury or mercury-added 

products (manufacturers), or otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process (processors). To 

identify the number of firms that are 

subject to the rule and considered small 

under SBA size standards, EPA 

compared the appropriate SBA size 

definition to the company’s revenue or 

number of employees, as identified 

using Dun and Bradstreet or other 

market research Web sites. Of the 506 

parent companies that are subject to the 

rule, 211 companies (42 percent) meet 

the SBA small business definitions for 

their respective NAICS classifications. 

The small entity analysis estimated 

that 1 parent company (0.46 percent of 

total entities) would incur an impact of 

3 percent or greater, and 3 parent 

companies (1.39 percent of total 

entities) would incur an impact of 1 to 

3 percent. Details of this analysis are 

included in the accompanying 

Economic Analysis for this Rule (Ref. 3). 

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain an 

unfunded mandate of $100 million or 

more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 

1531 through 1538, and does not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. As such, the requirements 

of sections 202, 203, 204, or 205 of 

UMRA do not apply to this action. 

F. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications, as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999). It will not have substantial direct 

effects on the States, on the relationship 

between the national government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. 

G. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000). It will not have any effect on 

tribal governments, on the relationship 

between the Federal government and 

the Indian tribes, or on the distribution 

of power and responsibilities between 

the Federal government and Indian 

tribes, as specified in the Order. Thus, 

EO 13175 does not apply to this action. 


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H. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 

(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 

applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern environmental 

health or safety risks that EPA has 

reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. This action is not 

subject to Executive Order 13045 

because it does not concern an 

environmental health risk or safety risk, 

nor is this action economically 

significant as the impact of this action 

will be less than $100 million. 

I. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This proposed rule is not subject to 

Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 

May 22, 2001) because it is not expected 

to affect energy supply, distribution, or 

use. 

J. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

Since this action does not involve any 

technical standards, section 12(d) of 

NTTAA, 15 U.S.C. 272 note, does not 

apply to this section. 

K. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

This action is not subject to Executive 

Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 

1994) because it does not establish an 

environmental health or safety standard. 

This action establishes an information 

requirement and does not affect the 

level of protection provided to human 

health or the environment. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 713 

Environmental protection, Mercury, 

Elemental mercury, Mercury 

compounds, Inventory, Supply, Use, 

Trade, Manufacture, Import, Export. 

Dated: October 19, 2017. 

E. Scott Pruitt, 

Administrator. 

Therefore, it is proposed that 40 CFR 

chapter I, subchapter R, be amended by 

adding a new part 713 to read as 

follows: 

PART 713—REPORTING 

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TSCA 

INVENTORY OF MERCURY SUPPLY, 

USE, AND TRADE 

Sec. 

713.1 Purpose, scope, and compliance. 

713.5 Mercury for which information must 

be reported. 

713.7 Mercury for which reporting is not 

required. 

713.9 General requirements for which 

information must be reported. 

713.11 Specific requirements for which 

information must be reported. 

713.13 Contextual requirements for which 

information must be reported. 

713.15 Persons who must report. 

713.17 Persons not subject to this part. 

713.19 Reporting information to EPA. 

713.21 When to report. 

713.23 Recordkeeping requirements. 

713.25 Electronic filing. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)(D). 

§ 713.1 Purpose, scope, and compliance. 

(a) This part specifies reporting and 

recordkeeping procedures under section 

8(b)(10) of the Toxic Substances Control 

Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2607(b)(10)) for 

certain manufacturers (including 

importers) and processers of mercury as 

defined in section 8(b)(10)(A) to include 

elemental mercury and mercury 

compounds. Section 8(b)(10)(D) of 

TSCA authorizes the EPA Administrator 

to require reporting from any person 

who manufactures mercury or mercuryadded products or otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process to carry out and 

publish in the Federal Register an 

inventory of mercury supply, use, and 

trade in the United States. In 

administering this mercury inventory, 

EPA will identify any manufacturing 

processes or products that intentionally 

add mercury and recommend actions, 

including proposed revisions of Federal 

law or regulations, to achieve further 

reductions in mercury use. EPA intends 

to use the collected information to 

implement TSCA and shape the 

Agency’s efforts to recommend actions, 

both voluntary and regulatory, to reduce 

the use of mercury in commerce. In so 

doing, the Agency will conduct timely 

evaluation and refinement of these 

reporting requirements so that they are 

efficient and non-duplicative for 

reporters. 

(b) This part applies to the activities 

associated with the periodic publication 

of information on mercury supply, use, 

and trade in the United States. 

(c) For purposes of this part, the 

reporting for mercury supply, use, and 

trade includes the following activities: 

(1) Import of mercury or a mercuryadded product with the purpose of 

obtaining an immediate or eventual 

commercial advantage for the importer, 

except: 

(A) Mercury generated as a byproduct 

not used for commercial purposes or an 

impurity; or 

(B) A product that contains a 

component that is a mercury-added 

product. 

(2) Manufacture (other than import) of 

mercury or a mercury-added product 

with the purpose of obtaining an 

immediate or eventual commercial 

advantage for the manufacturer, except 

a product that contains a component 

that is a mercury-added product. 

(3) Intentional use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process, other than the 

manufacture of a mercury compound or 

a mercury-added product, with the 

purpose of obtaining an immediate or 

eventual commercial advantage for the 

processor, except mercury generated as 

a byproduct not used for commercial 

purposes. 

(4) Distribution in commerce, 

including domestic sale or transfer, of 

mercury or a mercury-added product. 

(5) Storage of mercury after 

manufacture (including import). 

(6) Export of mercury or a mercuryadded product, including the 

determining and controlling the sending 

of mercury (unless specifically 

prohibited) or a mercury-added product 

to a destination out of the customs 

territory of the United States. 

(d) Section 15(3) of TSCA makes it 

unlawful for any person to fail or refuse 

to submit information required under 

this part. In addition, TSCA section 

15(3) makes it unlawful for any person 

to fail to keep, and permit access to, 

records required by this part. Section 16 

of TSCA provides that any person who 

violates a provision of TSCA section 15 

is liable to the United States for a civil 

penalty and may be criminally 

prosecuted. Pursuant to TSCA section 

17, the Federal Government may seek 

judicial relief to compel submission of 

TSCA section 8 information and to 

otherwise restrain any violation of 

TSCA section 15. 

(e) Each person who reports under 

this part must certify the accuracy of its 

information and maintain records that 

document information reported under 

this part and, in accordance with TSCA, 

permit access to, and the copying of, 

such records by EPA officials. 

§ 713.5 Mercury for which information 

must be reported. 

(a) Elemental mercury (Chemical 

Abstracts Registry Number 7439–97–6); 

or 

(b) A mercury compound, including 

but not limited to the mercury 


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compounds listed in Table 1 of this part 

by Chemical Abstracts Registry Number: 

TABLE 1—MERCURY COMPOUNDS

Chemical abstracts 

registry No. Mercury compound 

10045–94–0 .................................... Nitric acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

100–57–2 ........................................ Mercury, hydroxyphenyl-. 

10112–91–1 .................................... Mercury chloride (Hg2Cl2). 

10124–48–8 .................................... Mercury amide chloride (Hg(NH2)Cl). 

103–27–5 ........................................ Mercury, phenyl(propanoato-.kappa.O)-. 

10415–75–5 .................................... Nitric acid, mercury(1+) salt (1:1). 

104–60–9 ........................................ Mercury, (9-octadecenoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

1191–80–6 ...................................... 9-Octadecenoic acid (9Z)-, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

12068–90–5 .................................... Mercury telluride (HgTe). 

13170–76–8 .................................... Hexanoic acid, 2-ethyl-, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

13302–00–6 .................................... Mercury, (2-ethylhexanoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

1335–31–5 ...................................... Mercury cyanide oxide (Hg2(CN)2O). 

1344–48–5 ...................................... Mercury sulfide (HgS). 

1345–09–1 ...................................... Cadmium mercury sulfide. 

13876–85–2 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, copper(1+) (1:2), (T–4)-. 

138–85–2 ........................................ Mercurate(1-), (4-carboxylatophenyl)hydroxy-, sodium (1:1). 

141–51–5 ........................................ Mercury, iodo(iodomethyl)-. 

14783–59–6 .................................... Mercury, bis[(2-phenyldiazenecarbothioic acid-.kappa.S) 2-phenylhydrazidato-.kappa.N2]-, (T–4)-. 

15385–58–7 .................................... Mercury, dibromodi-, (Hg-Hg). 

15785–93–0 .................................... Mercury, chloro[4-[(2,4-dinitrophenyl)amino]phenyl]-. 

15829–53–5 .................................... Mercury oxide (Hg2O). 

1600–27–7 ...................................... Acetic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

1785–43–9 ...................................... Mercury, chloro(ethanethiolato)-. 

19447–62–2 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)[4-[2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]diazenyl]phenyl]-. 

20582–71–2 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetrachloro-, potassium (1:2), (T–4)-. 

20601–83–6 .................................... Mercury selenide (HgSe). 

21908–53–2 .................................... Mercury oxide (HgO). 

22450–90–4 .................................... Mercury(1+), amminephenyl-, acetate (1:1). 

24579–90–6 .................................... Mercury, chloro(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-. 

24806–32–4 .................................... Mercury, [.mu.-[2-dodecylbutanedioato(2-)-.kappa.O1:.kappa.O4]]diphenyldi-. 

26545–49–3 .................................... Mercury, (neodecanoato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

27685–51–4 .................................... Cobaltate(2-), tetrakis(thiocyanato-.kappa.N)-, mercury(2+) (1:1), (T–4)-. 

29870–72–2 .................................... Cadmium mercury telluride ((Cd,Hg)Te). 

3294–57–3 ...................................... Mercury, phenyl(trichloromethyl)-. 

33770–60–4 .................................... Mercury, [3,6-dichloro-4,5-di(hydroxy-.kappa.O)-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-dionato(2-)]-. 

3570–80–7 ...................................... Mercury, bis(acetato-.kappa.O)[.mu.-(3′,6′-dihydroxy-3-oxospiro[isobenzofuran-1(3H),9′-[9H]xanthene]-2′,7′- 

diyl)]di-. 

537–64–4 ........................................ Mercury, bis(4-methylphenyl)-. 

539–43–5 ........................................ Mercury, chloro(4-methylphenyl)-. 

54–64–8 .......................................... Mercurate(1-), ethyl[2-(mercapto-.kappa.S)benzoato(2-)-.kappa.O]-, sodium (1:1). 

55–68–5 .......................................... Mercury, (nitrato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

56724–82–4 .................................... Mercury, phenyl[(2-phenyldiazenecarbothioic acid-.kappa.S) 2-phenylhydrazidato-.kappa.N2]-. 

587–85–9 ........................................ Mercury, diphenyl-. 

592–04–1 ........................................ Mercury cyanide (Hg(CN)2). 

592–85–8 ........................................ Thiocyanic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

593–74–8 ........................................ Mercury, dimethyl-. 

59–85–8 .......................................... Mercurate(1-), (4-carboxylatophenyl)chloro-, hydrogen. 

623–07–4 ........................................ Mercury, chloro(4-hydroxyphenyl)-. 

62–38–4 .......................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)phenyl-. 

62638–02–2 .................................... Cyclohexanebutanoic acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

627–44–1 ........................................ Mercury, diethyl-. 

6283–24–5 ...................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)(4-aminophenyl)-. 

628–86–4 ........................................ Mercury, bis(fulminato-.kappa.C)-. 

629–35–6 ........................................ Mercury, dibutyl-. 

63325–16–6 .................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, (T–4)-, hydrogen, compd. with 5-iodo-2-pyridinamine (1:2:2). 

63468–53–1 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)(2-hydroxy-5-nitrophenyl)-. 

63549–47–3 .................................... Mercury, bis(acetato-.kappa.O)(benzenamine)-. 

68201–97–8 .................................... Mercury, (acetato-.kappa.O)diamminephenyl-, (T–4)-. 

72379–35–2 .................................... Mercurate(1-), triiodo-, hydrogen, compd. with 3-methyl-2(3H)-benzothiazolimine (1:1:1). 

7439–97–6 ...................................... Mercury. 

7487–94–7 ...................................... Mercury chloride (HgCl2). 

7546–30–7 ...................................... Mercury chloride (HgCl). 

7616–83–3 ...................................... Perchloric acid, mercury(2+) salt (2:1). 

7774–29–0 ...................................... Mercury iodide (HgI2). 

7783–33–7 ...................................... Mercurate(2-), tetraiodo-, potassium (1:2), (T–4)-. 

7783–35–9 ...................................... Sulfuric acid, mercury(2+) salt (1:1). 

7783–39–3 ...................................... Mercury fluoride (HgF2). 

7789–47–1 ...................................... Mercury bromide (HgBr2). 


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TABLE 1—MERCURY COMPOUNDS—Continued 

Chemical abstracts 

registry No. Mercury compound 

90–03–9 .......................................... Mercury, chloro(2-hydroxyphenyl)-. 

94070–93–6 .................................... Mercury, [.mu.-[(oxydi-2,1-ethanediyl 1,2-benzenedicarboxylato-.kappa.O2)(2-)]]diphenyldi-. 

§ 713.7 Mercury for which reporting is not 

required. 

(a) Mercury that is generated as a 

byproduct not used for commercial 

purposes; or 

(b) Mercury-containing waste. 

§ 713.9 General requirements for which 

information must be reported. 

(a) Persons who manufacture 

(including import) mercury in amounts 

greater than or equal to 2,500 pounds 

(lbs.) for elemental mercury or greater 

than or equal to 25,000 lbs. for mercury 

compounds for a specific reporting year 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Amount of mercury stored (lbs.); 

or 

(2) Amount of mercury distributed in 

commerce (lbs.) 

(b) All other persons who 

manufacture (including import) mercury 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Amount of mercury manufactured 

(other than imported) (lbs.); 

(2) Amount of mercury imported 

(lbs.); 

(3) Amount of mercury exported 

(lbs.), except mercury prohibited from 

export at 15 U.S.C. 2611(c)(1) and (7); 

(4) Amount of mercury stored (lbs.); 

or 

(5) Amount of mercury distributed in 

commerce (lbs.). 

(c) Persons who sell mercury-added 

products, except a product that contains 

a component that is a mercury-added 

product, in IMERC Notification states 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Amount of mercury in 

manufactured (other than imported) 

products (lbs.); 

(2) Amount of mercury in imported 

products (lbs.); or 

(3) Amount of mercury in exported 

products (lbs.). 

(d) All other persons who 

manufacture (including import) 

mercury-added products, except a 

product that contains a component that 

is a mercury-added product, shall 

report, as applicable: 

(1) Amount of mercury in 

manufactured (other than imported) 

products (lbs.); 

(2) Amount of mercury in imported 

products (lbs.); 

(3) Amount of mercury in exported 

products (lbs.); 

(4) Amount of mercury in products 

distributed in commerce (lbs.); or 

(e) Persons who otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process, other than the 

manufacture of a mercury compound or 

a mercury-added product, shall report, 

as applicable: 

(1) Amount of mercury otherwise 

intentionally used (lbs.) in a 

manufacturing process; 

(2) Amount of mercury stored (lbs.); 

(3) Amount of mercury in exported 

final product(s) (lbs.); or 

(4) Amount of mercury in final 

product(s) distributed in commerce 

(lbs.). 

§ 713.11 Specific requirements for which 

information must be reported. 

(a) Any person who manufactures 

(including imports) mercury shall 

specify, as applicable, the specific 

mercury compound(s) from a preselected list (as listed in Table 1 of this 

part). 

(b) Any person who manufactures 

(including imports) a mercury-added 

product, except manufacture (including 

import) of a product that contains a 

component that is a mercury-added 

product, shall specify as applicable, the 

specific category(ies) and 

subcategory(ies) from a pre-selected list, 

as listed in Table 2 of this part: 

TABLE 2—CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES OF MERCURY-ADDED PRODUCTS

Category Subcategory 

Batteries .................................................................................................... —Button cell, silver. 

—Button cell, zinc-air. 

—Button cell, alkaline. 

—Stacked button cell batteries. 

—Manganese oxide. 

—Silver oxide. 

—Mercuric oxide, non-button cell. 

—Button cell, mercuric oxide. 

—Button cell, zinc carbon. 

—Other (specify). 

Dental amalgam ....................................................................................... [No subcategories]. 

Formulated products (includes uses in cosmetics, pesticides, and laboratory chemicals).—Skin-lightening creams. 

—Lotions. 

—Soaps and sanitizers. 

—Bath oils and salts. 

—Topical antiseptics. 

—Preservatives (e.g., for use in vaccines and eye-area cosmetics 

when no preservative alternatives are available). 

—Pharmaceuticals (including prescription and over-the-counter drug 

products). 

—Cleaning products (not registered as pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act). 

—Pesticides. 

—Paints. 

—Dyes. 

—Reagents (e.g., catalysts, buffers, fixatives). 


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TABLE 2—CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES OF MERCURY-ADDED PRODUCTS—Continued 

Category Subcategory 

—Other (specify). 

Lighting, lamps, bulbs ............................................................................... —Linear fluorescent. 

—Compact fluorescent. 

—U-tube and circular fluorescent. 

—Cold cathode fluorescent. 

—External electrode fluorescent. 

—Mercury vapor. 

—Metal halide. 

—High pressure sodium. 

—Mercury short arc. 

—Neon. 

—Other (specify). 

Measuring instruments ............................................................................. —Barometer. 

—Fever thermometer. 

—Flow meter. 

—Hydrometer. 

—Hygrometer/psychrometer. 

—Manometer. 

—Non-fever thermometer. 

—Pyrometer. 

—Sphygmomanometer. 

—Other (specify). 

Pump seals ............................................................................................... [No subcategories]. 

Switches, relays, sensors, valves ............................................................ —Tilt switch. 

—Vibration switch. 

—Float switch. 

—Pressure switch. 

—Temperature switch. 

—Displacement relay. 

—Wetted reed relay. 

—Contact relay. 

—Flame sensor. 

—Thermostat. 

—Other (specify). 

Miscellaneous/novelty mercury-added products ...................................... —Wheel weights. 

—Wheel rotation balancers/stabilizers. 

—Firearm recoil suppressors. 

—Carburetor synchronizers. 

—Joint support/shock absorption bands. 

—Other (specify). 

(c) Any person who otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process, other than the 

manufacture of a mercury compound or 

a mercury-added product, shall specify, 

as applicable: 

(1) The specific manufacturing 

process for which mercury is otherwise 

intentionally added from a pre-selected 

list, as listed in Table 3 of this part: 

TABLE 3—MANUFACTURING PROCESS

FOR WHICH MERCURY IS OTHERWISE INTENTIONALLY ADDED

Chlorine production (e.g., mercury-cell chloralkali process). 

Acetaldehyde production. 

Vinyl chloride monomer production. 

Sodium/potassium methylate/ethylate production. 

Polyurethane/plastic production. 

Other (specify). 

(2) The specific use of mercury in a 

manufacturing process from a preselected list, as listed in Table 4 of this 

part: 

TABLE 4—SPECIFIC USE OF MERCURY

IN A MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Catalyst. 

Reactant. 

Reagent. 

Other (specify). 

§ 713.13 Contextual requirements for 

which information must be reported. 

(a) Persons who manufacture 

(including import) mercury in amounts 

greater than or equal to 2,500 lbs. for 

elemental mercury or greater than or 

equal to 25,000 lbs. for mercury 

compounds for a specific reporting year 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Country(ies) of origin for imported 

mercury; 

(2) Country(ies) of destination for 

exported mercury; 

(3) NAICS code(s) for mercury 

distributed in commerce. 

(b) All other persons who 

manufacture (including import) mercury 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Country(ies) of origin for imported 

mercury; 

(2) Country(ies) of destination for 

exported mercury; 

(3) NAICS code(s) for mercury 

distributed in commerce. 

(c) Persons who sell mercury-added 

products, except a product that contains 

a component that is a mercury-added 

product, in IMERC Notification states 

shall report, as applicable: 

(1) Country(ies) of origin for imported 

products; 

(2) Country(ies) of destination for 

exported products; or 

(3) NAICS code(s) for products 

distributed in commerce. 

(d) All other persons who 

manufacture (including import) 

mercury-added products, except a 

product that contains a component that 

is a mercury-added product, shall 

report, as applicable: 


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(1) Country(ies) of origin for imported 

products; 

(2) Country(ies) of destination for 

exported products; or 

(3) NAICS code(s) for products 

distributed in commerce. 

(e) Persons who otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process, other than the 

manufacture of a mercury compound or 

a mercury-added product, shall report, 

as applicable: 

(1) Country(ies) of destination for 

exported final product(s); or 

(2) NAICS code(s) for mercury in final 

product(s) distributed in commerce. 

§ 713.15 Persons who must report. 

(a) Any person who manufactures 

(including imports) mercury; 

(b) Any person who manufactures 

(including imports) a mercury-added 

product, except a product that contains 

a component that is a mercury-added 

product; or 

(c) Any person who otherwise 

intentionally uses mercury in a 

manufacturing process, other than the 

manufacture of a mercury compound or 

a mercury-added product. 

§ 713.17 Persons not subject to this part. 

(a) Any person engaged in the 

generation, handling, or management of 

mercury-containing waste, unless that 

person manufactures or recovers 

mercury in the management of that 

waste. 

(b) Any person who engaged in trade 

(e.g., brokering, selling wholesale, 

shipping, warehousing, repackaging, or 

retail sale), but does not first 

manufacture (including import) mercury 

or mercury-added products or otherwise 

intentionally use mercury in a 

manufacturing process. 

§ 713.19 Reporting information to EPA. 

Any person who must report under 

this part shall report for the submission 

period described at § 713.21: 

(a) Quantities of mercury in pounds 

per applicable activity listed under the 

general requirements for which 

information must be reported described 

at § 713.9; 

(b) Specific requirements for which 

information must be reported described 

at § 713.11; 

(c) Contextual requirements for which 

information must be reported described 

at § 713.13; and 

(d) According to the procedures 

described at § 713.25. 

§ 713.21 When to report. 

(a) Any person who must report under 

this part shall report for the reporting 

year described as follows. The 2020 

reporting year is from January 1 to 

December 31, 2018. Subsequent 

recurring reporting years are from 

January 1 to December 31 at 3-year 

intervals, beginning in 2021. 

(b) All information reported for an 

applicable reporting year must be 

submitted on or before the first day of 

July following the reporting year. The 

2020 submission deadline is July 1, 

2019. Subsequent recurring submission 

deadlines are from July 1, in 3-year 

intervals, beginning in 2022. 

§ 713.23 Recordkeeping requirements. 

Each person who is subject to the 

reporting requirements of this part must 

retain records that document any 

information reported to EPA. Records 

relevant to a reporting year must be 

retained for a period of 3 years 

beginning on the last day of the 

reporting year. Submitters are 

encouraged to retain their records longer 

than 3 years to ensure that past records 

are available as a reference when new 

submissions are being generated. 

§ 713.25 Electronic filing. 

(a) You must use [xxx name of 

application xxx] to complete and submit 

[xxx form? xxx]. Submissions may only 

be made as set forth in this section. 

(b) Submissions must be sent 

electronically to EPA via CDX. 

(c) Access [xxx name of application 

xxx] and instructions, as follows: 

(1) By Web site. Go to the EPA [xxx 

name of application xxx] homepage at 

http://www.epa.gov/[xxxURLxxx] and 

follow the appropriate links. 

(2) By phone or email. Contact the 

EPA TSCA Hotline at (202) 554–1404 or 

TSCA-Hotline@epa.gov for a CD–ROM 

containing the instructions. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23225 Filed 10–25–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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