I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1534 
To prohibit the sale, distribution, or transfer of mercury, to prohibit the 
export of mercury, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 15, 2007 
Mr. ALLEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit the sale, distribution, or transfer of mercury, 
to prohibit the export of mercury, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Mercury Export Ban 
Act of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) mercury is highly toxic to humans, eco-
systems, and wildlife; 
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(2) as many as 10 percent of women in the 
United States of childbearing age have mercury in 
the blood at a level that could put a baby at risk; 
(3) as many as 630,000 children born annually 
in the United States are at risk of neurological prob-
lems related to mercury; 
(4) the most significant source of mercury expo-
sure to people in the United States is ingestion of 
mercury-contaminated fish; 
(5) the Environmental Protection Agency re-
ports that, as of 2004— 
(A) 44 States have fish advisories covering 
over 13,000,000 lake acres and over 750,000 
river miles; 
(B) in 21 States the freshwater advisories 
are statewide; and 
(C) in 12 States the coastal advisories are 
statewide; 
(6) the long-term solution to mercury pollution 
is to minimize global mercury use and releases to 
eventually achieve reduced contamination levels in 
the environment, rather than reducing fish consump-
tion since uncontaminated fish represents a critical 
and healthy source of nutrition worldwide; 
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(7) mercury pollution is a transboundary pollut-
ant, depositing locally, regionally, and globally, and 
affecting water bodies near industrial sources (in-
cluding the Great Lakes) and remote areas (includ-
ing the Arctic Circle); 
(8) the free trade of mercury on the world mar-
ket, at relatively low prices and in ready supply, en-
courages the continued use of mercury outside of the 
United States, often involving highly dispersive ac-
tivities such as artisinal gold mining; 
(9) the intentional use of mercury is declining 
in the United States as a consequence of process 
changes to manufactured products (including bat-
teries, paints, switches, and measuring devices), but 
those uses remain substantial in the developing 
world where releases from the products are ex-
tremely likely due to the limited pollution control 
and waste management infrastructures in those 
countries; 
(10) the member countries of the European 
Union collectively are the largest source of mercury 
exports globally; 
(11) the European Commission has proposed to 
the European Parliament and to the Council of the 
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European Union a regulation to ban exports of mer-
cury from the European Union by 2011; 
(12) the United States is a net exporter of mer-
cury and, according to the United States Geological 
Survey, exported 506 metric tons of mercury more 
than the United States imported during the period 
of 2000 through 2004; and 
(13) banning exports of mercury from the 
United States will have a notable affect on the mar-
ket availability of mercury and switching to afford-
able mercury alternatives in the developing world. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR TRANS-
FER OF MERCURY. 
Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 
U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f) MERCURY.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON SALE, DISTRIBUTION, OR 
TRANSFER OF MERCURY BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), effective begin-
ning on the date of enactment of this subsection, no 
Federal agency shall convey, sell, or distribute to 
any other Federal agency, any State or local govern-
ment agency, or any private individual or entity any 
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elemental mercury under the control or jurisdiction 
of the Federal agency. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to a transfer between Federal agencies of ele-
mental mercury for the sole purpose of facilitating 
storage of mercury to carry out this Act.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF MERCURY. 
Section 12 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 
U.S.C. 2611) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘subsection 
(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF MERCURY.— 
‘‘(1) 
PROHIBITION.—Effective 
January 
1, 
2010, the export of elemental mercury from the 
United States is prohibited. 
‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
SUBSECTION
(a).— 
Subsection (a) shall not apply to this subsection. 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON MERCURY COM-
POUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) REPORT.—Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of the Mercury Ex-
port Ban Act of 2007, the Administrator shall 
publish and submit to Congress a report on 
mercuric chloride, mercurous chloride or cal-
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omel, mercuric oxide, and other mercury com-
pounds, if any, that may currently be used in 
significant quantities in products or processes. 
Such report shall include an analysis of— 
‘‘(i) the sources and amounts of each 
of the mercury compounds produced annu-
ally in the United States or imported into 
the United States; 
‘‘(ii) the purposes for which each of 
these compounds are used domestically, the 
amount of these compounds currently con-
sumed annually for each purpose, and the 
estimated amounts to be consumed for 
each purpose in 2010 and beyond; 
‘‘(iii) the sources and amounts of each 
mercury compound exported from the 
United States annually in each of the last 
three years; 
‘‘(iv) the potential for these com-
pounds to be processed into elemental mer-
cury after export from the United States; 
and 
‘‘(v) other information that Congress 
should consider in determining whether to 
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extend the export prohibition to include 
one or more of these mercury compounds. 
‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—For the purpose of 
preparing the report under this paragraph, the 
Administrator may utilize the information gath-
ering authorities of this title, including sections 
10 and 11, except that subsection (b)(2) of sec-
tion 11 shall not apply to activities under this 
subparagraph.’’. 
SEC. 5. EXCESS MERCURY STORAGE ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Title I of the Toxic Substances 
Control Act is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 32. EXCESS MERCURY STORAGE ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an advi-
sory committee, to be known as the ‘Excess Mercury Stor-
age Advisory Committee’ (referred to in this section as 
the ‘Committee’). 
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 
composed of 9 members, of whom— 
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‘‘(A) 2 members shall be jointly appointed 
by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the Majority Leader of the Senate— 
‘‘(i) 1 of whom shall be designated to 
serve as Chairperson of the Committee; 
and 
‘‘(ii) 1 of whom shall be designated to 
serve as Vice-Chairperson of the Com-
mittee; 
‘‘(B) 1 member shall be the Administrator; 
‘‘(C) 1 member shall be the Secretary of 
Defense; 
‘‘(D) 1 member shall be a representative of 
State environmental agencies; 
‘‘(E) 1 member shall be a representative of 
State attorneys general; 
‘‘(F) 1 member shall be a representative of 
the chlorine industry; 
‘‘(G) 1 member shall be a representative of 
the mercury waste treatment industry; and 
‘‘(H) 1 member shall be a representative of 
a nonprofit environmental organization. 
‘‘(2) APPOINTMENTS.—Not later than 45 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad-
ministrator, in consultation with the appropriate 
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congressional committees, shall appoint the members 
of the Committee described in subparagraphs (D) 
through (H) of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(c) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date on which all members of the Committee 
have been appointed, the Committee shall hold the initial 
meeting of the Committee. 
‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at the 
call of the Chairperson. 
‘‘(e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 
Committee shall constitute a quorum. 
‘‘(f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this section, the Committee shall submit 
to Congress a report describing the findings and rec-
ommendations of the Committee, if any, relating to— 
‘‘(1) the environmental, health, and safety re-
quirements necessary to prevent— 
‘‘(A) the release of elemental mercury into 
the environment; and 
‘‘(B) worker exposure from the storage of 
elemental mercury; 
‘‘(2) the estimated annual cost of storing ele-
mental mercury on a per-pound or per-ton basis; 
‘‘(3) for the 40-year period beginning on the 
date of submission of the report, the optimal size, 
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number, and other characteristics of Federal facili-
ties required to store elemental mercury under cur-
rent and anticipated jurisdictions of each Federal 
agency; 
‘‘(4) the estimated quantity of— 
‘‘(A) elemental mercury that will result 
from the decommissioning of mercury cell chlor- 
alkali facilities in the United States; and 
‘‘(B) any other supplies that may require 
storage to carry out this Act; 
‘‘(5) for the 40-year period beginning on the 
date of submission of the report, the estimated 
quantity of elemental mercury generated from the 
recycling of unwanted products and other wastes 
that will require storage to comply with the export 
prohibitions under this Act; 
‘‘(6) any legal, technical, economic, or other 
barrier that may prevent the private sector from 
storing elemental mercury produced by the private 
sector during the 40-year period beginning on the 
date of submission of the report, including a descrip-
tion of measures to address the barriers; 
‘‘(7) the advantages and disadvantages of con-
solidating the storage of mercury produced by public 
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and private sources under the management of the 
public or private sector; 
‘‘(8) the optimal plan of the Committee for 
storing excess mercury produced by public and pri-
vate sources; and 
‘‘(9) additional research, if any, required to de-
termine a long-term disposal option for the storage 
of excess mercury. 
‘‘(g) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) 
NON-FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES.—A 
member of the Committee who is not an officer 
or employee of the Federal Government shall be 
compensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva-
lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed 
for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec-
tion 5316 of title 5, United States Code, for 
each day (including travel time) during which 
the member is engaged in the performance of 
the duties of the Committee. 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL
EMPLOYEES.—A member 
of the Committee who is an officer or employee 
of the Federal Government shall serve without 
compensation in addition to the compensation 
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received for the services of the member as an 
officer or employee of the Federal Government. 
‘‘(2) TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—A member of the 
Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, includ-
ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author-
ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter 
I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 
away from the home or regular place of business of 
the member in the performance of the duties of the 
Committee. 
‘‘(h) STAFF
AND
FUNDING.—The Administrator 
shall provide to the Committee such funding and addi-
tional personnel as are necessary to enable the Committee 
to perform the duties of the Committee. 
‘‘(i) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate 
180 days after the date on which the Committee submits 
the report of the Committee under subsection (f).’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 
of contents of the Toxic Substances Control Act is amend-
ed by adding after the item relating to section 31 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘Sec. 32. Excess Mercury Storage Advisory Committee.’’. 
Æ 
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