I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4260
To provide for the reduction of mercury in the environment. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 4, 2004
Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, and Ms. LEE) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for the reduction of mercury in the environment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Communities and 
Safe Schools Mercury Reduction Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Mercury is a naturally occurring element 
and bioaccumulative toxin that is easily absorbed 
through skin and respiratory and gastrointestinal 
tissues.
(2) Although mercury is naturally occurring, 
studies have shown that its concentration has in-
creased dramatically over the past 150 to 200 years 
due to mining and industrial activities. 
(3) Common sources of mercury released into 
the environment include breakage of mercury-con-
taining products like fluorescent bulbs and thermom-
eters, the manufacturing of mercury-containing 
products, and incineration of mercury-containing 
products. 
(4) According to recent studies, mercury depos-
its are a significant public health threat in many 
States throughout the United States. 
(5) Fetuses, infants, and young children are at 
the greatest risk from chronic low level mercury ex-
posure. 
(6) A study by the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention found that approximately 8 percent 
of women of childbearing age in the United States 
had mercury levels exceeding the level considered 
safe by the Environmental Protection Agency for 
protecting the fetus. This translates into approxi-
mately 60,000 babies born each year in the United 
States at risk of developmental harm due to mercury 
exposure in the womb.
(7) A study published in the Journal of Obstet-
rics and Gynecology found that elevated mercury ex-
posures associated with seafood could be linked to 
an increased risk of infertility in both men and 
women. 
(8) Mercury pollution is widespread. As of early 
2003, 43 States had issued mercury fish consump-
tion advisories for one or more freshwater or marine 
fish. 
(9) Mercury is the most common pollutant trig-
gering fish consumption advisories in the United 
States. The number of mercury advisories has in-
creased 138 percent from 1994 to 2002. In 2002, 
mercury advisories covered 12,000,000 lake acres 
and 470,000 river miles. 
(10) According to the Mercury Study Report, 
prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency 
and submitted to Congress in 1997, mercury fever 
thermometers contribute approximately 17 tons of 
mercury to solid waste each year. 
(11) Numerous mercury spills have been docu-
mented in schools, often causing thousands of dol-
lars to clean up. A mercury spill in Washington, 
D.C., in September of 2003 cost over $1,000,000 to
clean up and resulted in a temporary school closure 
of several weeks. 
(12) Mercury-containing thermostats generally 
contain 3 grams of mercury, which is enough mer-
cury to poison a 60 acre lake for one year. 
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the En-
vironmental Protection Agency (in this Act referred to as 
the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall establish a program for making 
renewable grants to governmental and nonprofit agencies 
and organizations, and to for-profit entities, for projects 
to—
(1) reduce harmful free-flowing elemental mer-
cury and mercury-added products from the environ-
ment; 
(2) safely dispose of or recycle harmful mer-
cury; 
(3) educate communities and citizens about the 
harmful effects of mercury; 
(4) develop and carry out a plan, in accordance 
with guidance provided by the Administrator under 
section 5, on how to eliminate free flowing mercury 
and instruments containing mercury from the prem-
ises of K–12 public and private schools; or
(5) carry out a mercury thermometer exchange 
program. 
(b) PROCEDURES AND SELECTION CRITERIA.—The 
Administrator shall establish procedures for the selection 
of grant recipients under this section, including require-
ments that appropriate records and information be made 
available to the Administrator as necessary to ensure that 
grant funds are used for the purposes for which they are 
provided. Criteria for selection shall include—
(1) strengths and weaknesses of the project; 
(2) adequacy of overall project design; 
(3) competency of proposed staff; 
(4) suitability of applicant’s available resources; 
(5) appropriateness of the proposed project du-
ration and budget; and 
(6) probability that the project will accomplish 
stated objectives. 
(c) 
RECYCLING
PROGRAMS.—Funds 
provided 
through a grant provided under this section may be used 
for a recycling program only if more than 50 percent of 
the total material recycled under the program is mercury. 
(d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 10 
percent of the amount appropriated for a fiscal year under 
subsection (e)(1) may be used by the Administrator for 
the administrative expenses of carrying out this section.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator for carrying out 
this section $75,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2005 through 2008. 
(2) SET ASIDE.—For each of the first 3 fiscal 
years for which funds are provided under paragraph 
(1), at least 40 percent of the amounts made avail-
able shall be reserved for projects described in sub-
section (a)(4) or (5), unless a sufficient number of 
qualified applications has not been received. 
SEC. 4. SALE OF THERMOMETERS; THERMOSTAT REPLACE-
MENT AND RECYCLING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Solid Waste Dis-
posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 3024. MERCURY. 
‘‘(a) SALE OF THERMOMETERS.—Effective beginning 
180 days after the date of enactment of this section—
‘‘(1) a person shall not sell or supply a mercury 
fever thermometer to a consumer, except by pre-
scription; and 
‘‘(2) with each mercury fever thermometer sold 
or supplied by prescription, the manufacturer of the 
thermometer shall provide clear instructions on—
‘‘(A) careful handling of the thermometer 
to avoid breakage; and 
‘‘(B) proper cleanup of the thermometer 
and its contents in the event of breakage. 
‘‘(b) THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT.—Effective begin-
ning 2 years after the date of enactment of this section—
‘‘(1) a contractor who replaces a building ther-
mostat in a residential or commercial building shall 
dispose of the replaced thermostat through a recy-
cling program established or participated in under 
paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(2) each manufacturer of building thermostats 
for installation in a residential or commercial build-
ing shall—
‘‘(A) establish or participate in a program 
for the safe and environmentally responsible re-
cycling of thermostats replaced by the manufac-
turer’s thermostats; and 
‘‘(B) establish or participate in a program 
to clearly educate individuals who sell or install 
the manufacturer’s thermostats about the pro-
gram established under subparagraph (A).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1001 of the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. prec. 6901) is
amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 
subtitle C the following:
‘‘Sec. 3024. Mercury.’’.
SEC. 5. SCHOOL PREMISES GUIDANCE. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall publish guidance to 
assist State and local governments to remove elemental 
free-flowing mercury and mercury-added instruments 
from the premises of public and private schools. Thermo-
stats, computers, and motorized vehicles shall not be con-
sidered instruments for the purposes of this section. 
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator, 
after obtaining necessary information from appropriate 
State agencies, shall transmit to the Congress a report on 
the progress made under this Act. Such report shall in-
clude—
(1) an executive summary; 
(2) a brief description of the background of this 
Act; 
(3) a State-by-State progress summary of mer-
cury reduction efforts relating to this Act, including 
a quantitative analysis of the amount of mercury 
eliminated, recycled, or disposed of in each State,
and an identification of the method or program re-
sponsible; 
(4) a description of grants and amounts award-
ed under section 3, and of the criteria used for 
awarding those grants; 
(5) a summary of a few selected mercury reduc-
tion programs that received grants, with a descrip-
tion of the success or problems each program had; 
(6) a detailed financial reporting of total ad-
ministration costs of carrying out this Act; 
(7) a joint summary, by the Administrator and 
appropriate State officials, that describes the coordi-
nation and communication progress and problems 
between the Federal and State Governments in car-
rying out this Act; and 
(8) recommendations for greater efficiency or 
improvement of administration of this Act. 
SEC. 7. MERCURY AMALGAM REDUCTION. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator shall issue regulations re-
quiring dentists to install a device that captures 90 per-
cent or more of mercury-laden amalgam on every chair 
or office structure in which mercury amalgam is adminis-
tered to their patients. The Administrator may provide for 
waivers from the requirements of this section for struc-
tural obstacle or significant financial economic harm rea-
sons.
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