•HCON 91 IH
Whereas mercury is truly a State, national, and international
concern because mercury is atmospherically transported
indiscriminately across political boundaries;
Whereas atmospheric deposition resulting from human activi-
ties, including area sources, waste incineration and dis-
posal, and fossil fuel burning contributes to mercury
loading in the environment;
Whereas mercury is a persistent bioaccumulative toxic sub-
stance that presents particular problems in aquatic sys-
tems;
Whereas fish consumption advisories have been issued for at
least 1,500 water bodies in 37 States because of high lev-
els of mercury contamination in fish, resulting in losses
to tourism and fishing industries and related activities;
Whereas, according to estimates by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, each year in the Unit-
ed States between 80,000 and 85,000 pregnant women
are exposed to mercury levels high enough to produce
risk to their children;
Whereas the study of mercury required under section
112(n)(1)(B) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.
7412(n)(1)(B)), required to be completed by November
15, 1994, represents the best information in the world on
the use, generation, and disposal of mercury;
Whereas the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency effectively completed the draft report in 1995,
but has continually delayed submittal of the study to
Congress;
Whereas there are known substitutes for most mercury-con-
taining products and devices, except for high-efficiency
lighting;
•HCON 91 IH
Whereas over 500,000,000 mercury-containing lamps are an-
nually produced in the United States, representing one of
the largest sources of mercury in municipal waste
streams, and typical waste management practices involve
compaction, which results in mercury releases, before and
during disposal;
Whereas landfill air emissions test data for mercury is lack-
ing;
Whereas the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency is establishing simultaneously maximum achiev-
able control technologies for mercury sources pursuant to
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), proposing
tightening water quality criteria for mercury under the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et
seq.), 
placing 
priority 
on 
mercury-contaminated
superfund sites, but is proposing to exempt mercury-con-
taining lamps from hazardous waste regulations;
Whereas the United States and Canada have jointly agreed
in the Agreement on Air Quality, Agreement on Great
Lakes Water Quality, 1978, and Agreement on Virtual
Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great
Lakes Basin to control transboundary emissions and to
cooperate on research and development projects to elimi-
nate toxic substances, including mercury; and
Whereas Federal and State governments have taken many ac-
tions to reduce mercury in the environment: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
•HCON 91 IH
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency should—
(1) immediately release to Congress the study
of mercury required under section 112(n)(1)(B) of
the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(n)(1)(B));
(2) conduct landfill air emission tests for mer-
cury in the Northeast and nationally; and
(3) not exempt mercury-containing lamps from
hazardous waste regulations, but should instead
adopt universal waste rules that foster mercury recy-
cling.
Æ