EPA Posts Mercury Substances to Be Banned from Export Through TSCA Rewrite

Exports of mercury (I) chloride or calomel, mercury (II) oxide, mercury (II) sulfate, mercury (II) nitrate, and mercury sulphide or “cinnabar” will be banned on Jan. 1, 2020, unless the chemicals are exported to member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for environmentally sound disposal, subject to certain conditions, the Environmental Protection Agency said (here). The respective Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Numbers of these substances are: 10112-91-1, 21908-53-2, 7783-35-9, 10045-94-0 and 1344-48-5. The U.S. government will allow such exports only if none of the compounds are expected to be recovered, recycled, “or reclaimed for use, or directly reused” after shipment, EPA said. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, enacted June 22, revised a number of TSCA provisions, and Congress directed EPA to publish a list of mercury compounds prohibited from export no later than 90 days after the law took effect.