Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008

Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008- (Sec. 3) Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit any federal agency from conveying, selling, or distributing elemental mercury to any other federal, state, or local agency or any private individual or entity. Exempts: (1) transfers between federal agencies for the sole purpose of facilitating storage of mercury to carry out this Act; and (2) conveyances, sales, distributions, or transfers of coal. (Sec. 4) Prohibits the export of elemental mercury from the United States effective January 1, 2013. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report to Congress, within one year after the enactment of this Act, on mercuric chloride, mercurous chloride or calomel, mercuric oxide, and other mercury compounds used in significant quantities in products or processes. Requires such report to include an analysis of: (1) the sources and amounts of such compounds imported into, or manufactured in, the United States annually; (2) the purposes for which each of the compounds is used domestically, the amounts consumed annually for each purpose, and the amounts estimated to be consumed in 2010 and beyond; (3) the sources and amounts of each compound exported annually in the last three years; (4) the potential for the compounds to be processed into elemental mercury after export; and (5) other information relevant in dete…

Congressional Research Service · 2008-10-14