FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION STUDY OF MERCURY COMPOUNDS IN DRUGS AND FOOD.

SEC. 413. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION STUDY OF MERCURY COMPOUNDS IN DRUGS AND FOOD. (a) List and Analysis.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, acting through the Food and Drug Administration— (1) compile a list of drugs and foods that contain intentionally introduced mercury compounds, and (2) provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the mercury compounds in the list under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall compile the list required by paragraph (1) within 2 years after the date of enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 and shall provide the 111 STAT. 2377analysis required by paragraph (2) within 2 years after such date of enactment. (b) Study.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Food and Drug Administration, shall conduct a study of the effect on humans of the use of mercury compounds in nasal sprays. Such study shall include data from other studies that have been made of such use. (c) Study of Mercury Sales.— (1) Study.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Food and Drug Administration and subject to appropriations, shall conduct, or shall contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, a study of the effect on humans of the use of elemental, organic, or inorganic mercury when offered for sale as a drug or dietary supplement. Such study shall, among other things, evaluate— (A) the scope of mercury use as a drug or dietary supplement; and (B) the adverse effects on health of children and other sensitive populations resulting from exposure to, or ingestion or inhalation of, mercury when so used. In conducting such study, the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and, to the extent the Secretary believes necessary or appropriate, with any other Federal or private entity. (2) Regulations.—If, in the opinion of the Secretary, the use of elemental, organic, or inorganic mercury offered for sale as a drug or dietary supplement poses a threat to human health, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations restricting the sale of mercury intended for such use. At a minimum, such regulations shall be designed to protect the health of children and other sensitive populations from adverse effects resulting from exposure to, or ingestion or inhalation of, mercury. Such regulations, to the extent feasible, should not unnecessarily interfere with the availability of mercury for use in religious ceremonies.