The United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has drafted 40 CFR 713 on reporting requirements for mercury-added products and mercury compounds, as required under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The purpose of the rule is to collect information about inventory of mercury supply, use and trade in the United States, and then to implement appropriate measures to reduce the use of mercury in commerce.
The proposed requirements related to mercury-added products and manufacturing processes are summarized as follows:
1. Reporting requirements
(a) Activities that shall require reporting
(b) Information to be reported (as applicable):
Table 1: Reporting information as required under 40 CFR 713
| Particulars to be reported | Persons who sell mercury-added products |
Persons who manufacture /import mercury-added products |
Persons who intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing process |
| Categories and sub-categories of mercury-added products Note: Refer to Table 2 for details | √ | ||
| Manufacturing process involved and function of mercury | √ | ||
| Country(ies) of origin for imported products | √ | √ | |
| Country(ies) of destination for exported products | √ | √ | √ |
| NAICS code(s) for final products distributed in commerce | √ | √ | √ |
Table 2: Categories and sub-categories of mercury-added products (Partly extracted from the proposed rule)
| Category | Sub-category |
| Batteries | Button cell, alkaline |
| Manganese oxide | |
| Silver oxide | |
| Mercuric oxide, button or non-button cell | |
| Button cell, zinc carbon | |
| Formulated products (includes uses in cosmetics, pesticides, etc.) | 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) | |
| Lighting, lamps, bulbs | Linear fluorescent |
| Cold cathode fluorescent | |
| Measuring instruments | Fever thermometer |
| Non-fever thermometer |
2. Reporting schedule
The EPA intends to collect the first reports from business operators regarding the activities performed in 2018. The subsequent recurring report submission shall be done once every 3 years.
3. Record keeping requirements
Persons who are subject to the reporting requirements shall retain records about the information reported to the EPA for 3 years beginning on the last day of the reporting year.
Note:
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