EPCRA Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting – Combustible Dusts

The following set of questions and answers are designed to help you understand if your facility is required to submit hazardous chemical inventory reports for your substances which are or may be combustible dusts under sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and provides guidance on how to comply with the requirements [Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 370, 42 U.S.C. 11021 and 11022 (pdf)(187 KB)].

Note that under EPCRA, the term “state” includes the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the five inhabited territories of the United States, and any other territory or possession over which the United States has jurisdiction. Federally recognized Tribes are the implementing authority for EPCRA on all Indian lands. Tribal Emergency Response Commissions are a form of State Emergency Response Commission, and any Tribal Emergency Planning Committees are a form of Local Emergency Planning Committee.

On this page:

• What facilities are subject to EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting?
• What substances can create combustible dusts?
• Are combustible dusts required to be reported on the hazardous chemical inventory reports?
• We’ve modified solids and created combustible dusts. How much of my material is subject to the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements of EPCRA sections 311 and 312?
• What are the reporting thresholds for the hazardous chemical inventory reporting of EPCRA sections 311 and 312?

What facilities are subject to EPCRA hazardous chemical inventory reporting?

The EPCRA sections 311 and 312 hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements [40 CFR part 370] apply to facilities that are required to prepare or have available a safety data sheet under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom Standard) [29 CFR section 1910.1200], if they have hazardous chemicals present above their EPCRA reporting thresholds. The EPCRA reporting thresholds are codified at 40 CFR section 370.10.

The OSHA HazCom Standard requires chemical manufacturers and importers to obtain or develop an SDS for each hazardous chemical that they produce or import and that employers have an SDS available for each hazardous chemical that they use [29 CFR section 1910.1200(g)]. The EPCRA regulations define hazardous chemical by citing OSHA's definition of “hazardous chemical” and providing the list of exceptions to the OSHA definition for the EPCRA sections 311-312 hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements in 40 CFR part 370.

Under the OSHA HazCom Standard [29 CFR section 1910.1200(c)] (updated for 89 FR 44144; May 20, 2024 (pdf)(69.7 MB)):

• Hazardous chemical means any chemical which is classified as a physical or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, or hazard not otherwise classified.
• Combustible dust means finely divided solid particulates of a substance or mixture that pose a flash-fire hazard or explosion hazard when dispersed in air or other oxidizing media.

Applicable to combustible dusts, EPCRA statue section 311(e) exempts the following from the hazardous chemical inventory reporting of sections 311-312 in 40 CFR part 370 [40 CFR section 370.13]:

1. Any food, food additive, color additive, drug, or cosmetic regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. For more details on the applicability of this exemption, refer to the new question and answer about the FDA exemption.
2. Any substance present as a solid in any manufactured item to the extent exposure to the substance does not occur under normal conditions of use. For more details on the applicability of this exemption, refer to the new questions and answers about the solids exemptions.
3. Any substance to the extent it is used in routine agricultural operations or is a fertilizer held for sale by a retailer to the ultimate customer. For more details on the applicability of this exemption, refer to the new questions and answers about the agricultural exemption and Fact Sheet: EPCRA Reporting Requirements for Fertilizer Retailers (pdf)(603 KB).

What substances can create combustible dusts?

Any combustible material can burn rapidly when in a finely divided form. If such a dust is suspended in air in the right concentration, under certain conditions, it can become explosible. Even materials that do not burn in larger pieces (such as aluminum or iron) can be explosive in dust form. Examples of these materials include agricultural products, agricultural dusts, carbonaceous dusts, chemical dusts, metal dusts, and plastic dusts. For a more specific list refer to the OSHA Combustible Dust Poster (pdf)(34.5 KB). For more information on combustible dusts refer to: OSHA Combustible Dust: An Explosion Hazard.

Are combustible dusts required to be reported on the hazardous chemical inventory reports?

Yes. If your facility handles substances that are combustible dusts, or that create combustible dusts at your facility, then you are required to report the presence of these dusts if the amounts are equal to or exceed the reporting thresholds for the substance.

If your facility has combustible dusts that are below the reporting thresholds or eligible for one of the reporting exemptions [40 CFR section 370.13], EPA encourages you to voluntarily report the presence on the hazardous chemical inventory reports due to the physical hazards present for first responders.

Are combustible dusts that are not airborne required to be reported?

Yes. OSHA advises that the combustible dust definition is not limited to the portion of the material which is airborne. If the SDS states that it is a combustible dust, then the material, even while resting on a surface or stored in a silo, would still be a combustible dust.

We’ve modified solids and created combustible dusts. How much of my material is subject to the hazardous chemical inventory reporting requirements of EPCRA sections 311 and 312?

You only have to include and count the amount of dust emitted or released from a manufactured solid that is being modified to determine whether the EPCRA sections 311 and 312 reporting thresholds have been reached. This interpretation is provided as guidance. States may implement more stringent requirements if they so choose. [75 FR 39857-39858; July 13, 2010 (pdf)(172 KB)]

To calculate the amount of fume or dust given off from a solid manufactured item, EPA recommends the using the following methods: monitoring data, mass balance, emission factors, or engineering calculations.

What are the reporting thresholds for the hazardous chemical inventory reporting of EPCRA sections 311 and 312?

The EPCRA reporting thresholds are codified at 40 CFR section 370.10.