Learn the Issues
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Reporting to an on-site fire department
Sections 311 and 312 apply to owners or operators of any facility that is required to prepare or have available a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for an OSHA-defined hazardous chemical present at the facility at any one time in amounts equal to or greater than established thresholds. If a…
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Purchases but never receives or stores a hazardous chemical over threshold amount
If a facility purchases more than 10,000 pounds of a hazardous chemical for which OSHA requires an MSDS in a calendar year but never actually receives or stores more than the 10,000 pound threshold at one time, must the facility report under EPCRA Sections 311 and 312? The MSDS and…
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Oxygen used at a hospital by technically qualified individuals
A hospital stores oxygen in a large outside bulk storage tank and delivers the material, as needed, throughout the hospital using a piping system (the oxygen is used only in the treatment of patients). The bulk storage tank is routinely maintained by hospital maintenance people but the oxygen itself is…
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Is there a time period that constitutes "present at the facility?"
A facility owner/operator makes a specialty chemical by first producing one chemical- the reaction intermediate and then injecting chlorine into the reaction vessel to start the final reaction for the final product. The facility runs these batches 3-4 times a year. The reaction intermediate is present over 10,000 pounds on…
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Federal recordkeeping requirements under EPCRA §§311 and 312
Facilities subject to EPCRA §§311 and 312 must submit a material safety data sheet (MSDS) and an inventory form annually to the state emergency response commission (SERC), local emergency planning committee (LEPC), and local fire department. Are there federal recordkeeping requirements for facilities subject to EPCRA §§311 and 312? There…
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Do Sections 311 and 312 pre-empt exisiting state and local programs?
What effect will Sections 311 and 312 requirements have on existing State and local "Right-to-Know" programs? Title III does not pre-empt existing state or local laws. Sections 311 and 312 requirements establish "ground rules" for submitting information about the presence of hazardous chemicals in the community. Where existing "Right-to-Know" laws…
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Threshold planning quantity (TPQ) for a non-reactive extremely hazardous substance (EHS) solid handled both as a solution and as a powder
How does a facility apply the threshold planning quantity (TPQ) for a non-reactive extremely hazardous substance (EHS) solid that is handled both as a solution and as a powder? Facilities that handle both the powdered and solution forms of a particular non-reactive solid EHS will have to consider the quantities…
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Pesticide applicator quantity applied to threshold or transportation exemption
A farmer contracts with an applicator to spray pesticides on his fields. The applicator drives a tank truck onto the farmers' field and sprays the pesticide from the truck onto the fields. For purposes of Section 302 emergency planning requirements, are the EHSs in the truck considered present at the…
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Chemicals in facility pipelines and the EPCRA transportation exemption
Section 327 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) exempts from any Title III reporting requirement (other than the §304 notification obligation) substances or chemicals in transportation and/or being stored incident to transportation. In a final rule promulgated April 22, 1987 ( 52 FR 13378), the Agency interpreted…
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Recommended approach for reporting lead acid batteries when complying with Tier II reporting
Does EPA have a standard or recommended reporting approach for lead acid batteries when complying with EPCRA Section 312 Chemical Inventory Reporting (i.e., Tier II reporting)? EPA suggests that facilities report for lead acid batteries in the same manner they used when complying with EPCRA Section 311 MSDS reporting requirements…
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TXT2, Regulated Identity, and Customer Numbers for Tier II reporting
Where can a facility find their TXT2 Number, Regulated Entity Number, and Customer Number that may be needed to complete the EPCRA Section 312 Chemical Inventory Report (i.e., Tier II report)? TXT2 Numbers, Regulated Entity Numbers, and Customer Numbers are not federally designated or tracked. These number are designed by…
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What information is required on lists submitted for Section 311?
What is required if a list is submitted instead of the actual material safety data sheets (MSDS) under Section 311? Instead of submitting an MSDS for each hazardous chemical, the owner or operator may submit a list of the hazardous chemicals for which the MSDS is required. This list must…
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Updates for 311 MSDS reporting
How would a facility report a hazardous chemical that they acquired above the reporting threshold after the October 17, 1987 deadline, for Section 311? An update must be submitted within three months anytime there is discovery of significant new information, or if an unreported hazardous chemical is present in a…
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Threshold determinations when there is no weight indicated on MSDS
If the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and label for a particular liquid hazardous chemical does not indicate the weight of the substance, how should the facility owner or operator make threshold and applicability determinations for EPCRA §312 (Tier II) Reporting? If a liquid is not labeled in pounds, its…
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Threshold calculations for acid mixtures
Do you apply the whole weight of an acid mixture towards the threshold under EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 or just the percentage of acid stated on the material safety data sheet (MSDS)? Aqueous acids are considered mixtures under EPCRA Sections 311 and 312. The acid itself is the hazardous…
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Reporting responsibility for hazardous chemicals brought on-site by contractors
A construction company is contracted by a manufacturing company to perform work at the manufacturer's site. The construction company brings hazardous chemicals onto the site to perform its construction activities. During normal conditions of use as well as in foreseeable emergencies, only employees of the construction company will be exposed…
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Must a facility aggregate EHSs from different mixtures?
With regard to thresholds in mixtures, how is reporting under Sections 311 and 312 handled if a facility has a number of different mixtures on-site and each is under 10,000 pounds but the mixtures contains an aggregated quantity of an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) that exceeds its reporting threshold? If…
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Is the Section 311 requirement an annual or a one-time reporting requirement?
Section 311 is a one-time reporting requirement unless there are any significant changes that affect the information that was already submitted.
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Are mining and mineral extraction wastes exempt under Section 304?
No. The release notification requirements apply if the wastes are CERCLA hazardous substances or extremely hazardous substances.
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Where should the Tier I form be sent and what is the deadline?
The owner or operator subject to this reporting requirement must submit a Tier I inventory form (or the optional Tier II inventory form) for all hazardous chemicals present at the facility in excess of the established threshold to the state emergency response commission, the local emergency planning committee, and the…