,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dicd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #a1  
#bjbj,mr4 ,booker introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,environment and ,public ,works  ,a     
,,bill  ,to require the ,administrator  
of the ,environmental ,protection       
,agency to conduct a study on mercury   
vapor released from synthetic flooring  
made using phenylmercuric acetate1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,mercury 
,vapor ,study ,act of #bjbj4  #b4       
,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7   
,,pma flooring1 a type of rubberized    
polyurethane flooring1 was widely       
installed in schools1 hospitals1        
retirement homes1 community centers1 and
 other public spaces starting in the    
#aifjs2  7#b7 ,,pma flooring may release
 mercury vapor into the air as the      
flooring deteriorates2  7#c7 mercury is 
a persistent bioaccumulative neurotoxin 

with great potential for harm1          
particularly for children and other     
vulnerable populations2  7#d7 there have
 been no studies examining the effects  
on children and other vulnerable        
populations from mercury vapor emitted  
from ,,pma flooring2  7#e7 several      
,states have issued guidance on maximum 
acceptable levels of mercury vapor from 
,,pma flooring1 but the guidance levels 
vary from ,state to ,state and there is 
currently no national standard2  7#f7   
school districts and other public spaces
 across the ,united ,states are unaware 
of the risk of mercury vapor exposure   
from ,,pma flooring2 and  7#g7 as of    
,november #bjbj1 it is not known-- 7,a7 
how many schools and public spaces have 
,,pma flooring installed2  7,b7 which   
schools and public spaces may have ,,pma
 flooring installed2 and  7,c7 whether  
,,pma flooring is still being installed 
in school districts and public spaces   
across the ,united ,states4  #c4        
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7        

,administrator ,the term ,administrator 
means the ,administrator of the         
,environmental ,protection ,agency4     
7#b7 ,,pma flooring ,the term ,,pma     
flooring means synthetic flooring made  
using phenylmercuric acetate as a       
catalyst4  #d4 ,study on the effects of 
mercury vapor from ,,pma flooring on    
human health  7a7 ,study ,the           
,administrator1 in consultation with the
 ,administrator of the ,agency for      
,toxic ,substances and ,disease         
,registry1 the ,consumer ,product       
,safety ,commission1 and the heads of   
other appropriate ,federal agencies1    
shall conduct a study-- 7#a7 on the     
potential exposure to mercury vapor from
 ,,pma flooring1 including by collecting
 existing data and obtaining new data on
 mercury vapor concentrations in        
facilities with ,,pma flooring2  7#b7 on
 the prevalence of ,,pma flooring in    
schools2 and  7#c7 to establish         
appropriate industrial hygiene          
monitoring steps to prevent or interdict

 mercury vapor exposure4  7b7 ,report   
,not later than #edj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 the         
,administrator shall submit to ,congress
 and make publicly available on the     
website of the ,environmental           
,protection ,agency a report that       
includes-- 7#a7 a description of the    
results of the study conducted under    
subsection 7a72  7#b7 a calculation of  
the minimal risk level for exposure to  
mercury vapor from ,,pma flooring2  7#c7
 a registry of schools with ,,pma       
flooring2  7#d7 guidance on best        
practices to properly address and       
mitigate the risk of mercury vapor      
exposure from ,,pma flooring2  7#e7 a   
plan to communicate the potential       
hazards of ,,pma flooring to school     
districts and the general public2 and   
7#f7 a recommendation as to whether to  
ban1 phase out1 or otherwise restrict   
the future installation of ,,pma        
flooring4