Committee releases substitute requiring mercury-free certification, testing and mitigation for new school flooring

The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee on March released a substitute to Assembly Bill 30-19 requiring new flooring installed in schools and childcare centers to be certified mercury-free and setting procedures for testing and mitigation.

The substitute requires an indoor air quality assessment and mitigation measures when mercury-containing floor materials could raise airborne mercury vapor concentrations above allowable levels. The bill directs the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, to adopt rules on indoor air quality standards, assessment procedures, and a certification application process; it also requires the health commissioner to review and update mercury vapor concentration standards every five years or when federal guidance changes.

Supporters included the New Jersey Work Environment Council and the Healthy Schools Now coalition, which urged the committee to advance the substitute. Witnesses said the amendments strengthen protections by creating a public database of identified hazardous floors, expanding testing and mitigation requirements, and allowing removal if mitigation fails. Nikki Baker, Healthy Schools Now Coalition coordinator, read amendment language into the record describing required documentation of air sampling and mitigation steps that must be taken before installing new flooring when samples exceed the maximum allowable mercury vapor concentration.

Witnesses also noted prior action by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, which surveyed and assessed roughly 170 districts beginning in February 2020; testimony said many districts have ongoing measures and that the substitute would help standardize assessments and remediation.

The committee voted to release AB 30-19 as substituted; the roll call recorded Assemblywoman Munoz, Assemblyman Egan, Assemblywoman McCoy and Chairman Samson voting yes.