SERC-TERC Updates: October 2024

Mention of non-EPA documents, presentations, training opportunities and conferences does not constitute an U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an acknowledgment that they exist and may be relevant to the SERC-TERC audience.

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Regulatory and Policy Information Related to Chemical Safety & Security

Comment on the Proposed Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Information Collection Request (ICR)

The TRI Program must have an approved ICR to collect information from facilities under EPCRA Section 313. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the information collection. The ICR and accompanying material are available in the docket.

Hot Topics

CSB Releases Investigative Update into Fatal TS USA Chemical Eruption in Chattanooga, Tennessee

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released an update into its ongoing investigation of a May 30, 2024, accidental release of a molten mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium nitrate which fatally injured one employee and resulted in injuries to a second employee at the Techniques Surfaces USA (“TS USA”) Liquid Nitriding facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. TS USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of HEF USA, headquartered in Springfield, Ohio, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of the HEF Group, headquartered in Andrézieux-Bouthéon, France.

For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen at Hillary.Cohen@csb.gov.

FEMA Releases the 20 Years of NIMS report

FEMA released of the 20 Years of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Report, a comprehensive review marking two decades of progress since the establishment of NIMS. NIMS guides all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector on how to work together most effectively to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from incidents. For the past 20 years, NIMS has served as the nation’s standard for managing all-hazards incidents. The report highlights the evolution of NIMS and showcases success stories from across the nation.

The 20 Years of NIMS report is a testament to the collaborative efforts of emergency management professionals across the country and provides insights into the future direction of incident management practices. It highlights lessons learned and best practices for implementing NIMS in various settings and improving national preparedness and resilience.

EPA and Forest Service Release Updated AirNow Fire and Smoke Map 
EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service released an updated version of the popular AirNow Fire and Smoke Map to provide millions of people in the U.S. with more information they can use to protect themselves from wildfire smoke. The updated Fire and Smoke Map has a new look and feel, is designed to load more quickly, and includes information not available in the previous versions, such as:

• Air quality monitoring information on coarse particle pollution and ozone, both of which can increase because of wildfire smoke.
• More information on individual wildland fires, including the type of fire and level of fire activity, when available.
• Information from low-cost fine particle sensors in Canada, in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The new version of the map allows users to see activity recommendations at a glance – or to expand the information to see more, including more information on actions to take to protect your health, charts showing how air quality has changed over the past week, and whether there are other fires within 30 miles of their locations. The map makes Smoke Outlook alerts more prominent and links to these forecasts, where available, to help the public better understand the possible impacts of smoke over the next several days. The Forest Service-led Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program issues Smoke Outlooks for certain large fires.

EPA and the Forest Service developed the Fire and Smoke Map to provide the public information on fire locations, smoke plumes, near real-time air quality, Smoke Outlooks for large U.S. wildfires, and protective actions to take -- all in one place. To give users the most localized air quality information possible, the map pulls data from monitors that regularly report to AirNow, temporary monitors such as those the Forest Service and air agencies have deployed near fires, and crowd-sourced data from nearly 15,000 low-cost sensors that measure fine particle pollution, the major harmful pollutant in smoke. The map shows this data in the familiar color-coding of the U.S. Air Quality Index.

You can view the Fire and Smoke Map on the AirNow website or select the smoke icon on the bottom right of the AirNow smartphone app. To view the map in Spanish or to select a modified AQI color scale for users with certain color vision deficiencies, click the settings icon at the top right corner of the map.

Download the AirNow app:

• Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/epa-airnow/id467653238 
• Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saic.airnow

CFATS Regulation Still Lapsed

It has now been more than a year since Congress allowed the statutory authority for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program (6 CFR Part 27) to expire on July 28, 2023. Since the lapse, the threat of chemical terrorism in the United States has not diminished. Without a program like CFATS—one that set the national standard for cyber and physical security, personnel training, and other security measures—the security and safety of 89.5 million Americans that live and work within two miles of a high-risk chemical facility is now solely dependent on the individual policies and processes of each facility and organization. Without CFATS, we have lost vital safeguards that were created to protect Americans from incidents of chemical terrorism.

Ammonia Safety & Training Institute

Event schedule updated regularly on ASTI website at www.ammonia-safety.com.

For a current list of events: Event Schedule

Contact ASTI via email at asti@ammonia-safety.com or call 831-761-2935 for more information.