EPA Announces Updates to Resources on Mercury Inventory Reporting Rule

(WASHINGTON, February 22, 2022) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the updated Mercury Electronic Reporting (MER) application and compliance guide for calendar year 2021 data reporting. The updates make it easier to report information about the supply, use, and trade of mercury to EPA.

The 2018 mercury inventory reporting rule requires companies, organizations, and individuals who manufacture or import mercury or mercury-added products (including pre-assembled products that contain mercury-added components), or otherwise intentionally use mercury in a manufacturing process to report information to EPA. This information is required to be submitted every three years using the online MER application, accessed through the Agency's Central Data Exchange (CDX).

EPA updated the mercury inventory reporting rule compliance guide to reflect the new requirement to report pre-assembled products that contain mercury-added components, such as a watch with a mercury-added battery. The guide explains the requirements for manufacturers and importers to report information about the supply, use, and trade of mercury to EPA; provides an overview of the legal requirements; and describes how the Agency intends to use the information it collects. Diagrams and examples are provided to help companies determine whether they must report information about mercury to EPA.

The MER application has been updated to include a drop-down year list to allow users to report for previous reporting years, and make the system easier for EPA to maintain. This will improve the reporting capabilities of the MER application and create maintenance efficiencies for EPA.

Today’s action will help EPA carry out statutory requirements to identify any manufacturing processes or products that intentionally add mercury and recommend actions to achieve further reductions in mercury use in the United States. This will further assist the United States in its implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.

The deadline to report 2021 data is July 1, 2022.

Learn more about the mercury inventory reporting rule.