Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/4364

 12 2 STA T .43 41 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 414 —O CT. 14 , 200 8PublicLaw1 1 0–4 14 110 thCongres s A n Act Topr o hib i t th esal e ,d istrib u tio n , trans f er, and e x port of ele m ental mer c ur y , and for other purposes .Beit e nac te dby t h e S enate and Hous eo fR e pr esentati v es of the U nited States of Am erica in C on g ress assemb l ed ,SECTION1. S H O R T TIT L E. ThisActmaybe cite d as the ‘ ‘ M e r c u ry Expo rt B a n Act o f20 0 8’ ’ . SEC. 2 . F IN D IN G S. C on g ress finds that —(1) mercury is high l y toxic to humans , ecosystems, and w ildlife (2) as many as 10 percent of women in the U nited S tates of childbearing age ha v e mercury in the blood at a level that could put a baby at ris k ( 3 )asmanyas 6 30,000 children born annually in the United States are at risk of neurological problems related to mercury; ( 4 ) the most significant source of mercury exposure to people in the United States is ingestion of mercury - contami- nated fish; ( 5 ) the Environmental P rotection Agency reports that, as of 2004— (A) 44 States have fish advisories covering over 13,000,000 lake acres and over 7 50,000 river miles; (B) in 21 States the freshwater advisories are state- wide; and (C) in 12 States the coastal advisories are statewide; (6) the long-term solution to mercury pollution is to mini- mi z e global mercury use and releases to eventually achieve reduced contamination levels in the environment, rather than reducing fish consumption since uncontaminated fish rep- resents a critical and healthy source of nutrition worldwide; (7) mercury pollution is a transboundary pollutant, depos- iting locally, regionally, and globally, and affecting water bodies near industrial sources (including the G reat L akes) and remote areas (including the Arctic Circle); (8) the free trade of elemental mercury on the world market, at relatively low prices and in ready supply, encourages the continued use of elemental mercury outside of the United States, often involving highly dispersive activities such as artisinal gold mining; 15USC26 11 note. 15 USC 26 0 1 note. M e rcu r yExp ort Ba n A cto f 200 8 . O ct. 1 4, 2008 [ S. 9 06 ]

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