Press Releases

Today, U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) and Francis Rooney (R-Fl-19) introduced the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act. This bipartisan bill would establish a national monitoring program to provide researchers with better data on the extent of mercury contamination in the U.S., helping to inform where to target pollution reduction initiatives.

Mercury is toxic to humans, even in small amounts. It has adverse effects on both children and adults, and it can impair the brain development of a child in utero, leading to birth defects.

“Protecting children from harmful toxins is a no-brainer, and I’m proud to introduce this bill with both Democratic and Republican support,” Cartwright said. “Mercury pollution is a serious environmental and public health concern, but right now, we don’t have strong enough data to tackle it. With a national monitoring program, we can take more informed actions to protect Americans from exposure to this toxic element.”

Congressman Rooney said, “Mercury is an indefatigable and powerful toxin which has long been associated with severe and life-threatening side effects. Exposure to this element has continued to damage our environment and has been proven to increase the risk of neurological birth defects in hundreds of thousands of American infants each year. This bipartisan legislation would institute a data measurement system requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to analyze and report long-term changes of mercury conditions in various environmental states. Collecting this data will further the fight in preventing mercury from damaging the health of our children and the American people.”

Summary of the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act:

• National Mercury Monitoring Program — directs EPA to establish a national mercury monitoring program to measure and monitor mercury levels in the air, water and soil, and in aquatic and terrestrial life.   
• Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee — directs EPA to establish a scientific Advisory Committee to guide the development and operations of the national mercury monitoring program.
• Multiple Monitoring Sites — directs EPA to select multiple monitoring sites representing multiple ecoregions of the U.S.
• Data Collection and Distribution — directs EPA to create a centralized database of environmental mercury data that can be freely accessed on the Internet.

This is a companion bill to one introduced in the U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE). It is supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the American Lung Association (ALA) and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV).

Susan Egan Keane, senior director for global advocacy in the International Program at NRDC said: “The monitoring network established by this bill will be a critical contribution to scientific understanding of mercury as a global pollutant. The data collected will allow the U.S. to assess the benefits of our own mercury policies, and provide critical insight to the effectiveness of international cooperation on mercury reduction through the Minamata Convention.”

Text of this legislation can be found here.