[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2813 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2813

 To address the risks of exposure of children to mercury from mercury-
                     contaminated industrial sites.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2007

  Mr. LoBiondo (for himself and Mr. Andrews) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To address the risks of exposure of children to mercury from mercury-
                     contaminated industrial sites.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Mercury Exposure Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Mercury is a highly volatile, naturally occurring 
        element that does not break down in the environment.
            (2) Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the 
        nervous system, lungs, brain, and kidneys.
            (3) Potential sources of human exposure to mercury include 
        breathing mercury vapor from spills or a contaminated 
        workplace, absorbing mercury through direct contact or dental 
        work, or eating fish or shellfish contaminated with 
        methylmercury.
            (4) Children can be exposed to mercury by many of the same 
        pathways as adults.
            (5) Children are not small adults. A child's exposure may 
        differ from an adult's exposure in many ways. Children drink 
        more fluids, eat more food, breathe more air per kilogram of 
        body weight, and have a larger skin surface in proportion to 
        their body volume.
            (6) A child's behaviors and lifestyle also influence 
        exposure. Unlike adults, children crawl on the floor; they put 
        things in their mouths; they may ingest inappropriate things 
        such as dirt or paint chips; they spend more time outdoors. 
        Children also are closer to the ground, and they do not have 
        the judgment of adults in avoiding hazards.
            (7) Forms of mercury are used in manufacturing processes, 
        such as the production of chlorine gas, and may also be an 
        added ingredient in products such as thermometers, fluorescent 
        lights, cosmetics, and dental fillings.
            (8) Due to these uses, mercury is present at a number of 
        contaminated industrial sites in the United States.
            (9) Children's unique behaviors, such as soil ingestion 
        from normal hand-to-mouth contact, puts them at particular risk 
        of exposure from these mercury-contaminated industrial sites.
            (10) The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
        has determined that the risk of children's exposure to mercury 
        from mercury-contaminated industrial sites has emerged as an 
        important public health issue.

SEC. 3. EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN TO MERCURY FROM MERCURY-CONTAMINATED 
              INDUSTRIAL SITES.

    (a) Research.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the Director of 
the National Institutes of Health and in consultation with the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish a 
program for the conduct or support of research regarding the risks 
posed by all levels of exposure of children to mercury from mercury-
contaminated industrial sites.
    (b) Study.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        shall conduct a study and submit a report to the Congress on 
        the prevalence of the exposure of children to mercury from 
        mercury-contaminated industrial sites.
            (2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall conduct the study 
        under this subsection in consultation with the Governor, and 
        with appropriate State agencies, of each State.
    (c) Grants.--
            (1) Authorization.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may 
        make grants on a competitive basis to State departments of 
        health to conduct initial and long-term testing of children 
        exposed to mercury from mercury-contaminated industrial sites.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this subsection, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``Governor'' means the chief executive officer 
        of a State.
            (2) The term ``State'' includes the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, 
        Guam, the Virgin Islands, and any other territory or possession 
        of the United States.
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