Learn the Issues
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Filing trade secrecy claims internationally
A chemical company has one operation in a foreign country and an identical operation in the U.S. For one chemical, they wish to file a trade secrecy claim under Sections 311 and 312. With regard to public disclosure, all non-government entities in the foreign country are bound by a confidentiality…
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Exemption for research laboratories and medical facilities under 311 and 312
Are research laboratories and medical facilities exempt from reporting under Sections 311 and 312? Research laboratories and medical facilities are not exempt from reporting requirements under Sections 311 and 312, rather, Section 311(c)(4) of Title III excludes from the definition of hazardous chemical: "Any substance to the extent it is…
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Does a facility have an option how to report a mixture containing EHS?
Under Sections 311 and 312, when extremely hazardous substances are contained within a mixture, does a facility still have the option to report the mixture as a whole or by its hazardous components? Yes, the mixture may be reported as a whole or by its hazardous components. To determine whether…
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Do facilities that submit lists have to file revised MSDSs?
If a facility submits a list to comply with Section 311, does the facility have to supply a revised MSDS with significant new information or a new MSDS for substances that become present on-site after the initial reporting deadline and exceed the threshold within three months as required by Section…
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Can retail gas stations use new thresholds if USTs are not in compliance?
How does temporary non-compliance with UST requirements affect applicability of the higher gasoline and diesel fuel thresholds for EPCRA? Retail gas stations that were not in compliance with all applicable UST requirements at any time during a calendar year may not apply the higher gasoline and diesel fuel thresholds for…
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Reporting for an EHS mixture based on a concentration range
A facility has a mixture which contains extremely hazardous substances (EHSs). The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the mixture only indicates a range of concentration for its components. For the purposes, of reporting under EPCRA Sections 302, 304, and 311/312 of EPCRA, should the facility owner/operator report be based…
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Smog Rating
Description of vehicle smog ratings.
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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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Public access for MSDSs
Where should citizens go to request MSDSs on chemicals in a facility within their community? Each submitted MSDS or list along with the community emergency response plan, and inventory form are to be made available to the public at a designated location during normal working hours. Each local emergency planning…
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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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What If One of Your Cars was Electric?
Thought starter about potential ideas for reducing transportation carbon pollution.
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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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Ammonia sales at farm supply companies
A farm supply company sells ammonia as a fertilizer to farmers. Is the ammonia, when held by the farm supplier, exempt from EPCRA Sections 311 and 312 reporting? EPCRA Section 311(e)(5) exempts "any substance to the extent it is used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer held for…
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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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CO2 in beverages and EPCRA 311 / 312 reporting
Is CO 2 added to beverages covered under Section 311(e)(1) exemption? Section 311(e)(1) exempts any food, food additive, drug, or cosmetic regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). EPA considers a substance to be regulated by the FDA as long as the substance is used in a manner which…
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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…