[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 663 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 663

  Expressing concern over the current Federal policy that allows the 
   exportation of toxic electronic waste to developing nations, and 
 expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should join 
  other developed nations and ban the exportation of toxic electronic 
                      waste to developing nations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 17, 2008

Mr. Brown submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing concern over the current Federal policy that allows the 
   exportation of toxic electronic waste to developing nations, and 
 expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should join 
  other developed nations and ban the exportation of toxic electronic 
                      waste to developing nations.

Whereas toxic electronic waste is generated from discarded televisions and 
        computer monitors, computers and peripherals, audio and video equipment, 
        wireless devices, fax and copy machines, video game consoles, and other 
        electronic appliances and products;
Whereas televisions with cathode ray tubes (CRTs) contain between 4 and 15 
        pounds of lead, a toxic substance known to cause brain damage in 
        children;
Whereas many laptops, flat panel monitors, and televisions contain fluorescent 
        lamps that contain mercury, a dangerous neurotoxin;
Whereas many electronic products contain toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, 
        beryllium, cadmium, chromium, and brominated flame retardants;
Whereas approximately 2,630,000 tons of used or unwanted electronics were 
        discarded in the United States in 2005, according to the Environmental 
        Protection Agency (EPA);
Whereas approximately 330,000 tons of electronic waste were collected and 
        diverted from landfills for reuse or recycling in 2005, according to the 
        EPA;
Whereas an estimated 50 percent to 80 percent of electronic waste collected for 
        reuse or recycling is exported to countries such as China, India, Ghana, 
        Nigeria, Pakistan, and Thailand, according to the Department of 
        Commerce;
Whereas approximately 131,500 tons of lead-containing CRTs were exported in 
        2005, representing 75 percent of the CRTs supposedly collected for 
        recycling, according to the EPA;
Whereas Congress has required the Nation's broadcasters to convert from analog 
        to digital broadcasting on February 17, 2009, a move which will render 
        millions of analog CRT televisions obsolete for broadcasting and likely 
        to be discarded;
Whereas exported electronic waste is often crudely scrapped and dismantled under 
        conditions that are dangerous for human health and the environment in 
        developing countries, according to eyewitness reports by the Basel 
        Action Network and several media outlets including National Geographic 
        Magazine;
Whereas toxic lead from exported electronic waste has returned to the United 
        States as a public health threat in children's jewelry made in China, 
        according to a study by Ashland University, reported by the Wall Street 
        Journal;
Whereas the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued multiple recall 
        notices for jewelry and toys for children made in China that contained 
        dangerous levels of lead;
Whereas 32 nations, including the member States of the European Union, have 
        banned the export of toxic electronic waste to developing countries;
Whereas several major information technology and consumer electronics 
        manufacturers have corporate policies that prohibit the export of toxic 
        electronic waste to developing nations;
Whereas the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended, 
        prohibits the export of hazardous waste from the United States to other 
        nations unless the EPA obtains prior written permission from the other 
        nation's competent authority; and
Whereas the EPA has determined that much electronic waste is excluded or 
        exempted from the definitions of ``waste'' and ``hazardous waste'' under 
        the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, leading to the 
        largely unrestricted export of toxic electronic waste to developing 
        nations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses its concern over the current Federal policy 
        that allows the exportation of toxic electronic waste to 
        developing nations; and
            (2) supports joining other developed nations and banning 
        the export of toxic electronic waste to developing nations.
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