Learn the Issues
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Waste streams and the mixture rule
Where there are several waste streams with the same identification number, is it sufficient to know the average quantities, or the maximum observed quantity, of hazardous constituents of the waste streams in order to apply the mixture rule to all of them? No. The mixture rule provision applies only to…
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Tests to determine RCRA characteristic of toxicity
What tests can be used to determine whether a waste exhibits the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) characteristic of toxicity? In 1990, EPA replaced the extraction procedure test for determining whether wastes exhibit the toxicity characteristic with the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP). Currently, a waste is considered toxic…
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Specific substances excluded under CERCLA petroleum exclusion
What substances are specifically excluded from CERCLA regulation by the petroleum exclusion? EPA interprets CERCLA section 101(14) to exclude crude oil and fractions of crude oil - including the hazardous substances, such as benzene, that are indigenous in those petroleum substances - from the definition of hazardous substance. Under this…
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Responsibility of transportation owners or operators in the event of a release
What is the responsibility of transportation owners or operators in the event of a spill or release of extremely hazardous substances or CERCLA hazardous substances? Although owners or operators of facilities in transportation or those that store substances under active shipping papers are not required to notify state and local…
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Scope of federally permitted release exemption
What is the scope of the federally permitted release exemption? CERCLA section 101(10) defines federally permitted releases in terms of releases permitted under a number of other environmental statutes. Releases that are federally permitted are exempt not only from CERCLA section 103 and EPCRA section 304 notification requirements, but from…
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Reporting spills of FIFRA registered pesticides
If a pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is accidentally spilled, must it be reported? Yes. Accidents, spills, improper application, and improper disposal are within the scope of the release notification provisions of CERCLA and must be reported. EPA's interpretation of the pesticide exemption in…
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Reporting radionuclide mixtures if composition is unknown
How are mixtures of radionuclides reported if the composition of the mixture is unknown? If the composition of the radionuclide mixture is unknown, there are two main possibilities: (1) the identity of the radionuclides is known but the quantities of one or more of the radionuclides released are not; or…
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Reporting releases to State and local response authorities
When is a release reportable to State and local response authorities? EPCRA State and local emergency notification requirements apply to the release of a CERCLA hazardous substance or an EHS in an amount equal to or greater than their RQs. EPCRA exempts from State and local reporting releases that result…
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Reportable release time period
Over what time period must a Reportable Quantity (RQ) of a hazardous substance be released for that release to be reportable? EPA has stated that the period during which the person in charge must measure whether an RQ or more has been released is 24 hours. Reporting must occur immediately…
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Release reporting requirements for radionuclides
What are radionuclides and what reporting requirements apply to their release? A radionuclide is a type of atom with an unstable nucleus. The atom releases energy by a process of decay called radioactivity. There are approximately 1,500 known radionuclides. All radionuclides are hazardous substances because they are designated generically as…
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Release of metal in solid form
If a metal is released in solid form at or above its Reportable Quantity (RQ), is it considered a reportable release? The Agency allows exclusions for massive forms of certain metals (antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, silver, thallium, and zinc) when the diameter of the released…
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Release of a RCRA-delisted hazardous waste
If a company has had its petition to delist a specific Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste granted by an EPA-approved State RCRA program, and that company releases this waste in excess of its Reportable Quantity (RQ), is it required to notify the National Response Center (NRC)? Under…
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Release of a hazardous substance in an encapsulated form
Is the release of a Reportable Quantity (RQ) or more of a CERCLA hazardous substance in an encapsulated form reportable? The term "release" is defined in CERCLA section 101(22) as any "...spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment (including the abandonment…
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Release notification for disposal into RCRA-regulated facility
Would disposal of a hazardous substance into a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C permitted facility or interim status facility be reportable? No. The disposal of hazardous substances into a disposal facility in accordance with EPA regulations is not subject to CERCLA notification provisions. Where the disposal of…
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Person in charge for CERCLA release reporting
How does one determine who is the person in charge? Determining who is the person in charge depends on a number of variables, including the specific operation involved, the management structure, and other case-specific considerations. EPA believes that it is unnecessary and impractical for the government to determine the person…
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Mineral spirits excluded from the CERCLA?
Are mineral spirits considered petroleum derivatives and therefore excluded from the CERCLA definition of hazardous substance? In most cases, yes. CERCLA section 101(14) specifically excludes petroleum from the definition of hazardous substance, consequently petroleum releases are not subject to CERCLA reporting and liability provisions. The petroleum exclusion includes "crude oil…
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Liability for damages caused by a release below the RQ
If a facility releases a hazardous substance below its Reportable Quantity (RQ) level, could it be liable for damages caused by the release? Yes. A release of a CERCLA hazardous substance below its RQ does not preclude liability from any damages that may result, including the costs of cleaning up…
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Is there a concentration cutoff below which it is not necessary to report a release?
Is there a concentration cutoff below which it is not necessary to report a release, even though a Reportable Quantity (RQ) might have been exceeded over a 24-hour period? No. There are no concentration cutoffs for the RQs (i.e., a lower-bound concentration below which reporting would not be required). Unless…
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Is blended (oxygenated) gasoline excluded?
Does blended (oxygenated) gasoline fall within the scope of the CERCLA petroleum exclusion? Historically, the Agency has interpreted the CERCLA section 101(14) petroleum exclusion to cover crude oil and the crude oil constituents that are indigenous to the petroleum (e.g., xylene), or that are normally mixed with or added to…
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How did EPA determine TPQs for EHSs?
How did EPA determine threshold planning quantities for extremely hazardous substances? The Agency assigned chemicals to threshold planning quantity (TPQ) categories based on an index that accounts for the toxicity and the potential of each chemical, in an accidental release, to become airborne. This approach does not give a measure…