{ "id": "RL31908", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31908", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 101600, "date": "2003-05-12", "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:45:53.138544", "title": "Mercury in Products and Waste: Legislative and Regulatory Activities to Control Mercury", "summary": "Mercury is a highly volatile, naturally-occurring element. It is a potent neurotoxin that can cause\nbrain, lung, and kidney damage. Mercury also has properties that make it useful in a variety of \nhousehold, medical, and industrial products and processes. It is a component in such products as\nthermometers, flourescent lamps, electrical switches, dental fillings, and batteries. This report\ndiscusses the health effects of mercury, how it is released into the environment, and current federal\nand state activities and recent legislative activity in Congress to control mercury releases into the\nenvironment.\n Human-related activities have significantly changed the natural distribution of mercury in the\nenvironment. For example, mercury is released during manufacturing processes or when\nmercury-containing products are ultimately discarded as waste. Significant sources of mercury\ninclude coal-burning power plants, cement manufacturing operations, and the incineration of\nmunicipal, hazardous, and medical wastes. (For a discussion of air emissions of mercury, see CRS Report RL31881.) \n After mercury vapors enter the air, they are ultimately converted to the highly toxic\nmethylmercury. Exposure to methylmercury can cause a wide array of health problems, including\ndamage to the brain and central nervous system. Potential sources of human exposure to mercury\ninclude eating fish or shellfish contaminated with methylmercury, breathing mercury vapor from\nspills or a contaminated workplace, or absorbing mercury through dental work.\n Both federal and state regulations govern the use of mercury in products and manufacturing\nprocesses. Federal regulation is done under the authority of several statutes and multiple agencies. \nRegulations are intended to control releases of mercury to the environment, reduce or eliminate the\nuse of mercury in products, or specify disposal requirements. Also, the U.S. Environmental\nProtection Agency (EPA) has established voluntary efforts and education outreach programs aimed\nat reducing the use of mercury in products and manufacturing processes and at better managing\nmercury-containing wastes. \n Recent legislative activity by states has gone beyond the health-based criteria associated with\nthe use or disposal of particular products. Instead, many states are trying to reduce the problems\nassociated with mercury by restricting its use altogether. For example, some states have banned\nmercury use or required warning labels on certain mercury-containing products. Some states have\nalso implemented recycling or disposal requirements for certain types of mercury-containing\nproducts.\n Recent legislative activity at the federal level has mirrored activities undertaken by many states. \nBills introduced in the 108th Congress seek to reduce the use of mercury in such products as \nthermometers, lighting products, and dental fillings, and to provide warning labels on\nmercury-containing products. Legislation has also been proposed requiring that mercury-containing\nwaste be removed from the waste stream before incineration. This report will be updated as events\nwarrant.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31908", "sha1": "2a34e003416811bf2a26079c91c0f79edbf114b1", "filename": "files/20030512_RL31908_2a34e003416811bf2a26079c91c0f79edbf114b1.pdf", "images": null }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20030512_RL31908_2a34e003416811bf2a26079c91c0f79edbf114b1.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Environmental Policy", "National Defense" ] }