[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17110-17111]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILDREN'S MERCURY EXPOSURE ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. FRANK A. LoBIONDO

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2007

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the ``Children's 
Mercury Exposure Act of 2007'' along with my colleague, Representative 
Robert E. Andrews. This necessary and important piece of legislation 
will establish a program of research at the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) regarding the risks posed by all levels of exposure of 
children to mercury from mercury contaminated industrial sites; require 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), working in 
coordination with state departments of health, to conduct a study on 
the prevalence of the exposure of children to mercury from mercury 
contaminated industrial sites and present to Congress a preliminary 
report of the prevalence of such occurrences 1 year from the date of 
enactment; and provide block grants through CDC to state departments of 
health to conduct initial and long-term testing of children exposed to 
mercury from mercury-contaminated industrial sites.
  I introduce this legislation today as a direct result of an incident 
that occurred last summer in my Congressional District. Last July, to 
my amazement and disbelief, I learned that a day care center in 
Franklin Township, New Jersey had been opened mistakenly on a site that 
was previously used by a thermometer manufacturer with a history of 
mercury contamination and had not been properly cleaned up. As a result 
of this, children who innocently played on the grounds and slept on the 
floors of he day care were diagnosed with mercury contamination.
  I worked with the CDC and state agencies to ensure that these 
children received the testing and care they needed and deserved, but 
there were many questions that could not be answered about the risks to 
these children and children like them who were exposed to mercury, nor 
were answers about whether similar incidents of mercury exposure in 
children were occurring in communities across the country.
  The answers I did find out though were alarming. I learned that 
mercury, a potent neurotoxin that can affect the nervous system, lungs, 
brain, and kidneys, is present at a number of contaminated industrial 
sites in the United States. I also learned that 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, and that the Agency for Toxic Substance 
and Disease Registry (ATSDR), has determined this risk has emerged as 
an important public health issue.
  This incident has taught me that children can, and unfortunately will 
be exposed to mercury from contaminated industrial sites. The

[[Page 17111]]

``Children's Mercury Exposure Act of 2007'' attempts to ensure that 
children and parents have knowledge about the risks posed by this 
exposure; that the scope of this problem is determined; and that the 
appropriate level of testing and care is provided. I urge my colleagues 
in the House to join me in working to help those children who have 
been, and may be, exposed to mercury and to support the ``Children's 
Mercury Exposure Act of 2007.''

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