TheUnited 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 theUnited 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
♦ Import, manufacture, sale or export of mercury-added products (except products that contain components that are mercury-added products) with the purpose of obtaining immediate or eventual commercial advantage.
♦ Intentional use of mercury in manufacturing processes other than manufacture of mercury compounds or mercury-added products (e.g. catalyst).
(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 |
Persons who intentionally |
|
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:
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to theU.S.business economy. Please refer to the attachment for the list of NAICS codes denoting the potentially affected entities.
